La Trinidad Trading Post codes up for amendment

July 15, 2019 Community Billboard

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -Business operation, management, good agricultural practices, peace and order, and sanitation are among the issues to be addressed by the municipal council of this capital town with its move to amend the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post (LTVTP) Code.
In an exclusive interview with Vice-Mayor Roderick Awingan on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 a day before the opening of the La Trinidad Highland Vegetable Industry Week, he said that the municipal council is set to review and amend the Ordinance No 5-2009, establishing the rules and regulation governing the administration of LTVTP in due time.
Awingan said that the move is to incorporate the “master plan” to eventually make the LTVTP into a Community Business Center and sustain its multi-million vegetable industry which for decades has been a major source of income for the municipality.
LTVTP generated total gross receipts of more than P54 million, attributed mainly on the passage of the new local tax code, based on the municipal treasurer’s 2018 report.
LTVTP has generated an initial income of P26million during the first semester of 2019. In an interview, Mayor Romeo Salda said he is amenable to the amendment of the ordinance especially some provisions.
“Some provisions should be amended especially on the management but not on the fees being collected,” Salda said.
“The municipality should be the one to manage the trading post, not the stakeholders,” Salda said, adding, “the building is owned by the municipality. We have a trading post code, but some stakeholders are against some of its provisions.”
Mayor Salda urged stakeholders to attend public consultations to give their positions and put premium on fairness. Meanwhile, League of Association of LTVT Area, Inc. president Nora Ganase said that she is in favor of the LTVT Code to be amended saying it would further strengthen and improve the operation of the trading post.
Ganase is requesting this early the office of the Mayor through its Permit and Licensing to strengthen its monitoring and follow-up stall owners, individuals and groups who are engaging business at the trading post.
She further urged the municipal government to strictly implement the accreditation of all stakeholders especially the buyers for the safety and smooth flow of operation at the trading post.

Primo Agatep/ABN