Several vendors on the second floor of the renovated Agdao Public Market have expressed uncertainty over their future despite being given leeway until June 30 to sell from the ground floor.
Maximo Macalipes, City Economic Enterprise (CEE) officer-in-charge, said at the sidelines of the flag ceremony at city hall Monday morning that the Agdao market committee approved an extension for the market’s second floor renters until June 30, 2025.
Most of these renters sell dry variety goods, but only “less than 20” of the 222 stall owners at the second floor stayed in their area, some vendors told MindaNews.
Bebeng Alocilja, who claims that her family were one of the first vendors in the area way back in 1967, said she does not know until when they will be finally settled in one place.
With the current setup by the CEE, she said they have to pay P6,000 monthly rent on the second floor, and another P200 per day for a one-square meter location on the first floor.
A vendor of barbecue sticks, she said she might lose her patrons, and eventually her job, if this type of scheme continues.
“Maayo pa man ang hupo-hupo nga mga vendor, dako pa’g kita namo. Ambot unsa kahay sunod ani. Wala pa’y klaro asa jud mi (Sidewalk vendors (who don’t pay rent and taxes) earn more than us. We don’t know our fate here, we don’t know where to go after this),” Alocilja said.
Another variety goods vendor who requested that he be identified only as “Benj” told MindaNews that while he gave up selling on the second floor, he still has to pay a monthly rent of P6,000 despite not staying there for more than two months. He is now selling on the first floor.
He would earn P15,000 a month, but when he was on the second floor, the most he could earn was around P5,000 per month, according to him.
“Hangtod June 30, unsa ni, pahumot nila kay ting-eleksyon? (They allowed us until June 30. What’s this, the government is allowing us because it’s election time?)” he added.
June 30 coincides with the last day of elected local government officials who won during the May 2022 elections.
On October 15, 2024, the market administration had allowed some of the second floor vendors to temporarily sell on the ground floor at certain times of the day so they could earn some “decent money.”
The ground floor of the new building is assigned to the meat, fish, and poultry vendors — and since then also by the variety vendors who would also sell products similar to the original occupants.
Macalipes said the June 30 extension was granted as requested by the market supervisor “to capture more market goers”.
In his Basta Dabawenyo podcast last October 21, Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte said that to solve the vendors’ problems, constant communication is needed between the market administrators and the vendors until they can come up with a solution.
“Protektahan nato ang mga naga-comply ug mga nagatuman na mga vendors (We should protect those compliant vendors),” Duterte stressed.
Ligaya Uba, president of the Agdao Public Market Dry Goods Section, said they were “forced to sell vegetables to earn profit.”
She noted that the variety or groceries section located on the second floor of the market’s new building is far from the vegetables section, which is on the ground floor at the other building currently undergoing renovation.
The P850 million renovation of the public market was stopped in its third phase due to “lack of funds.” Another building will be established to host the fruit and vegetable sections, which were temporarily transferred to the second floor of the new market building. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
