By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — The city collected around P8,923,450 from the 10-month operation of the night market along Harrison Road raising interest among members of the city council to revive or institutionalize it as income generating project.

This surfaced during a council discussion with City market superintendent Policarpio Tamayo in-aid of-legislation with people concerned to shed light on the policies and problems encountered in the operation of the night market.

He said they were able to get barely P1 million per month from the kurtais (rent for the space) of the vendors.

He said that the rent of per vendor is P50 a night and is being collected on a weekly basis for a vending space of 1.1 meters by .7 meters.

Tamayo however said that of the 929 registered vendors, 700 only are active rental payers.

He explained that some of the vendors could not sell their wares regularly.

But City councilor Lourdes Tabanda said that the team assigned in monitoring the night market should check the actual occupancy of the spaces as she visited the area and noticed that it is always full.

She said this seems contradictory to what the city monitoring team says that there are more than 200 vacant slots nightly.

Julius Kitong, a member of the monitoring team claimed that they have list of names of the vendors and the kind of wares they are selling.

He added that they are strictly implementing the “no-number tags and no ID-no vending” policy inside the night market.

He said about complaints coming from the vendors that there are people who come to vend without paying the “kurtais”.

Kitong admitted that they lack manpower to monitor the premises and vicinities of the night market.

He said that if something adverse happens they only get to know it when the nearby police stations call their attention.

City councilor Phillian Weygan-Allan said that the night market with the considerable revenue it is giving to the city should be studied well for a possible institutionalization.

She said that clear policies should be formulated to ensure its operations. She also said that there are places in other countries that institutionalized night markets.

Councilor Edison Bilog said that he observed that the night market is always full of costumers making it sometimes impassable.

He advised the Baguio City Market Authority then to improve security and lighting and add more facilities. He said that the pay comfort rooms nearby are operating in a definite time period and the night market is open until midnight so it will be beneficial to both the vendors and the costumers if there are portable toilets.

The city council requested for the market authority to submit updated records and data. This according to Vice Mayor Daniel Fariñas will be used for appropriate legislative actions. # nordis.net