BACOLOD City – Majority of the vendors at the Burgos Market in this city expressed opposition to the proposed rehabilitation of the market.
Vendor Lucilyn de la Paz said they had a meeting with Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez on Saturday, May 25, adding that only 34 vendors, including her, voted “yes” while over 200 of the total 271 vendors said “no” to the rehabilitation.
“Indi sila, indi sila eh. Simple lang ang tuyo sang syudad nga mabuligan pakaayo ang merkado,” Benitez said yesterday.
Another vendor who refused to be named told Panay News that most of the vendors were not in favor of the market redevelopment fearing that their business operation would be affected.
Last week, Benitez gave the vendors a week, or until May 28, to decide whether to proceed with the proposed rehabilitation of the market or not.
This was following the vendors’ visit to his office at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) to air their concerns on the plan of the city to rehabilitate the market.
The city mayor even presented to them the proposed design of the Burgos Market, however, the vendors expressed worries like what will happen to them during the construction phase, adding they fear the possible loss of income.
Burgos Market is one of the three major markets in the city. The two others are Central and Libertad markets.
Earlier this month, the City Engineer’s Office has submitted a proposed design for the Burgos Market. It could accommodate approximately 726 stalls across various sections including dry goods, vegetables, meat, fish, food court, as well as night market stalls.
The city government has allocated a P525-million budget for the rehabilitation of Burgos Market./PN
