High prices of basic commodities, exacerbated by the “exorbitant” rental fees allegedly imposed by the managers of Suki Market, the city’s main public market, should convince the city government that it’s high time to terminate its “Build, Operate, Transfer” (BOT) agreement with the facility’s private operator.
San Pedro City in Laguna may be on the way to losing its economic competitiveness, threatening to derail Mayor Art Mercado’s dream of the city becoming “Una sa Laguna.”
The reason? High prices of basic commodities.
And this is not just due to the “record-high” inflation rate of 8 percent recorded last November.
We’re talking about the “exorbitant” rental fees allegedly imposed by the managers of Suki Market, the city’s main public market, which in turn is driving up the prices of basic commodities sold in the market.
This alone, along with the repeated violations of Ithiel Corporation, the current managers of the public market, to laws and court rulings ordering it to abide by the terms of its “Build, Operate Transfer” (BOT) agreement with the local government of San Pedro, should convince the city government that it’s high time to terminate its agreement with the private operator.
Vendors’ Clamor
That’s exactly what the members of the Suki Wet and Dry Market Vendors and Stallholders Association are now asking the city government of San Pedro: the early termination of the BOT agreement between the LGU and Ithiel Corporation, which is supposed to expire in 2025.
In a recent appearance before the Sangguniang Panglungsod, Glen Salvador, president of the Suki Wet and Dry Market Vendors and Stallholders Association, petitioned the city government to act on the private operator’s alleged refusal to honor local legislation and court decisions that prevented it from “unjustly” raising the rent levied on the stallholders.
“Nandito po kami ngayon, buong grupo po na humihiling sa inyo ng malaking tulong para sa buong pamilihan ng San Pedro dahil mayroong kasong isinampa po sa Suki Market tungkol sa ordinansa; ordinansa na dumapo sa RTC, Court of Appeals, at umabot po kami ng Supreme Court,” Salvador said in his speech during the regular session of the Sangguniang Panglungsod last December 5.
Court Cases
The issue stemmed from a petition filed by the Suki Market stallholders led by Salvador before the San Pedro City Regional Trial Court (RTC), in which they asked the courts to implement Municipal Ordinance 2000-16 that required Ithiel Corporation to charge uniform rates on all stall holders.
Ithiel had defended its decision to raise the rent it levies on “newer” stallholders, claiming that the BOT agreement only protected the rights of existing stallholders (described as “legitimate”) whose names were included in a master list that was provided by the city government and represented the “original” stallholders of the old market building which was replaced by Suki Market.
The BOT agreement, it further claimed, authorized Ithiel to increase the rentals or charges imposed on newer stall holders (“illegitimate”) who were not listed.
To clear that inconsistency, the municipal government issued Resolution 2007-53 and Municipal Ordinance 2008-01, which directed Ithiel to apply the original daily rental rates to all lessees inside Suki Market.
Ithiel, however, reportedly refused to abide by the municipal ordinance, prompting the stallholders to file a petition before the court.
In 2014, the San Pedro RTC Branch 93 ruled in favor of Salvador and the other stallholders and ordered the company to pay P250,000 in “temperate damages” to the municipal government and the vendor’s association.
The case went all the way to the Court of Appeals, and later to the Supreme Court’s 1st Division, where in 2019 and 2022 respectively, the two higher courts ruled in favor of the market vendors.
Without Merit
In its 2019 ruling, the Court of Appeals sustained the San Pedro RTC’s finding that the BOT agreement made no distinction between supposed “legitimate” and “illegitimate” stall holders on the basis of their occupancy.
It said the agreement merely provided for Ithiel to “give priority” to existing stall holders in terms of occupation, adding there was no basis for the interpretation that it could give the old occupants “preferred rates” compared to newer ones.
The court said an older ordinance, Municipal Ordinance 2000-16, already imposed a uniform rate, and Ithiel’s contention cannot prevail over a rule it must follow.
It also found that the non-impairment clause was not violated by the passage of Municipal Ordinance 2008-01, because it merely clarified the terms of the agreement and regulated future rental rate increases.
That same argument was upheld by the Supreme Court in its 2022 ruling, in which it said that “though it is true that the old stallholders had been given priority as regards to the occupancy of the new market … no other privilege, much less lower rental rates, was conferred to them under Municipal Ordinance 2000-16 and the BOT agreement.”
Harassment
Not only has Ithiel Corporation refused to honor the court decisions, but the firm has also reportedly harassed the members of the Suki Market vendors’ association, Salvador claimed.
During his appearance before the city council, the president of the vendor’s association alleged that the market’s management locked out his store, had it “welded,” and finally cut off his store’s electrical supply.
“Nakakaawa man po isipin, kaya lang ito po talaga siguro ang inadya ng Panginoon, na talagang tinaymingan siguro para nang sa ganon maging matibay ang lahat at magising ang lahat sa katotohanan,” Salvador said in his speech.
Ripple Effect
In an interview with OpinYon Laguna, Councilor Carlon “Lonlon” Ambayec said he has already called for a committee meeting at the Sangguniang Panglungsod to address the issue.
“Ang sabi ko [sa mga vendor], kausapin na muna nila si Mayor [Mercado]. Ang sa akin, nagpatawag ako ng committee hearing. Kaya lang, walang sagot ang Suki Market management dahil apparently bago nga daw yung manager, 2022 lang napa-assign,” Ambayec, who is the chairperson of the Committee on Market and Slaughterhouse at the city council, explained.
Ambayec also noted that the high rental fees levied by Ithiel Corporation is also having a “ripple effect” on the prices of goods sold on the market – a blow to consumers who already had to endure high inflation rates.
This, he claimed, is also one of the reasons for the proliferation of illegal vendors around the perimeter of the Suki Market.
“Kaya nga may mga nagtitinda na illegal vendors, kasi nagbabayad na nga sila [legitimate vendors] ng tax at the same time sinisingil pa sila ng mahal na renta doon sa Suki Market. Kaya syempre, naghahanap ng [mas murang bilihin] ang tao. Ang nangyayari, minsan ang napapaboran ay iyon pang ilegal, samantalang yung mga nagbabayad ng tama ang di nabibigyan ng tulong,” he added.
To date, the office of Mayor Art Mercado has yet to respond to OpinYon Laguna’s queries regarding the issue. (With reports by Catherine Go and Jai Duena)