The Iloilo City Government’s plan to develop public markets under the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme is not beneficial to vendors, according to Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan-Panay).

“PPP is a strategy of the government to abandon its responsibilities for the people and pass it on to private businesses who are not thinking about service but business,” said Elmer Forro, Bayan-Panay secretary general.

He believed that the city government is capable of financing the rehabilitation of public markets.

According to Forro, funding can be sourced from the taxes being paid by vendors.

“Other municipalities in the Province of Iloilo were able to rehabilitate their markets without capitulating to private businesses, thereby protecting and securing the livelihood of our vendors,” he stressed.

Forro said the privatization of public markets would jack up prices of produce.

“This is not sustainable and will eventually die its due course as it cannot compete with big businesses who have all the capital and market advantages,” he stressed.

The city government is currently looking for investors to develop public markets.

Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said PPP is the “best solution to implement priority infrastructure initiatives amid budgetary constraints.”

“We need to enter into PPP because it will sustain income and revenues for the City Government. Our markets are also in deplorable state. We want to have the best public markets in Western Visayas,” he said.

Treñas assured that small vendors will stay in their stalls.

“We will retain the ground floor for the vendors. We will protect social issues. The investors may be free as to how tall they will decide to go up with their development,” Treñas said.

The mayor said he already formed a group to handle potential PPP improvements, including the rehabilitation and upgrading of public markets.

PPP is in accordance with Republic Act No. 7718 or the “Act Authorizing the Financing, Construction, Operation and Maintenance of Infrastructure Projects by the Private Sector, and for Other Purposes, otherwise known as the Build-Operate-and-Transfer (BOT) Law.” IMT