City markets’ revenue collections hit P20M

CEBU, Philippines - Market Administrator Raquel Arce is optimistic to can reach the P50 million target income for this year now that revenue collections from the different public markets in Cebu City reached P20.9 million from January to May 31.

If the P50 million target income can be achieved for the whole year, the Office of City Markets will have a surplus of 10 million because the market operations budget for this year is P39.5 million, said market operations chief Arnel Quijano.

Arce said the market revenue collections in 2012 reached P50 million which is why the market operations division is also aiming a similar amount for this year by strengthening their collection efforts.

The vision of the market authorities is to make public markets clean, orderly and economical. To achieve this, Arce explained that they are trying their best to ensure economic viability of public markets with Public and Private Partnership (PPP) and to manage and operate the same professionally.

One of the strategies undertaken by the market authorities to convince the consumers to patronize the products that are sold in Carbon market is to ensure that the basic commodities sold have the same quality to those in the supermarkets yet lower in prices.

According to Arce, there are some vendors who fail to promptly pay their obligations to the city like a certain vendor who failed to pay P163,000 of market space rentals for her food business at Ramos Public Market.

Arce said the market in-charge already recommended to the City Treasurer’s Office for possible closure of the said vendor’s space and compel her to pay her obligation.

Of all the satellite markets in Cebu City, Arce had so much headache about the Warwick Barracks market along F. Escaño Street because the inner portion of the market space had been converted already as residential houses rather than vending stalls.  (FREEMAN)