Mayor Mulls: To Loan or Leave to Pvt. Sector

 CONSTRUCTION OF NEW MANAOAG PUBLIC MARKET

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

MANAOAG, Pangasinan – The leadership of this pilgrimage town mulls whether to fund the proposed construction of the two-storey public market through the private sector or the local government unit borrows money in the bank.

Mayor Jeremy Agerico Rosario told Northern Watch Newspaper the scenarios in each of these two options he preferred so his government can start the pick-and-shovel works this year.

 

Manaoag Mayor Jeremy Agerico “Doc Ming” Rosario (standing under the big umbrella) confers with vendors at the Rizal Park Compound of the landlocked town.

The construction – the biggest project with a tentative value at P200 million in his more than one-year administration – will spruce up the look of the old market where it will cater not only to the needs of his constituents but to the 55, 000 devotees a week that visit the The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag.

“Kasi the reason why we need a good public market because the chemistry ng bisita they buy religious articles, souvenirs, bibili ng pamalengke pauuwi. So we want the whole package nasa Manaoag na ito. Mamalengki na sila dito,” he explained the comparative advantages in drawing incomes from the customers of the reconstructed marketplace.

Rosario, an anesthesiologist, said that leaving to the private sector through public private partnership (PPP) the management of the retail and trading center will tie the LGU here for the next 20 to 25 years before it could operate the market. The second storey will become a parking space for rent for vehicles to solve the crowded spaces the motorists are confronted whenever they visited this first class town north of Manila.

“We have not yet reach as to how much we are going to spend. Dapat magandang public market at may ample parking area isa pa iyan”.

Since the market will be self-sustaining, Rosario leans to contract the loan to the Land Bank of the Philippines. He said the bank evaluated the LGU capacity to P305 million to borrow and pay in ten years   the loan.

“One option ang PPP (private –public-ownership). Ang PPP kasi you gonna be handtied for the next 25 years napakahirap. Sisihin naman kami ng (mamayan). It’s a matter of seeking public consultation with these people”.

The public market, Rosario said, is walking distance to the The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag.

He said the LGU will settle for a two-storey edifice because he saw the sad experiences of other local governments creating large multi-floor building that are not profitable. He explained however that the new market is capable of being converted someday for more stories as the situation calls for it.