NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – Ilolio City’s two public markets with SM mall features that were redeveloped through a P2-billion public-private partnership (PPP) have strengthened Iloilo City “market (market) tour.”
Eight months since they reopened last October, the Iloilo Central Market (ICM) and Iloilo Center Market (ITM) now serve as a “new face” for Iloilo City, also known as the “City of Love”.
Before the market restructuring was done by SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SM Prime) sometime in 2022,”market tour” at the Iloilo Central Market and the Iloilo Center Market focused on the “batch (Ilonggo noodle soup) and news-thing (shaved ice dessert) tourism.” (READ:That’s sweet!’ Gordon Ramsay judges Ninong Ry’s, Judy Ann Santos’ halo-halo)
People, especially foreigners from other regions, flocked to Iloilo Central Market and Iloilo Center Market just to eat the famous Ilonggo. batch and news-thing.
As they say, one should not leave Iloilo City without going to the Iloilo Central Market or the Iloilo Center Market for the best. batch and news-thing in the city. (Summary: La Paz Batchoy, Pancit Molo, and the famous dishes of Iloilo)
But as the years went by, the now 114-year-old Iloilo Central Market or “Tienda Mayor” to Iloilo locals, and the post-war Iloilo Center Market became dirty and dilapidated. The Iloilo Central Market, or previously called the Iloilo Super Market, was built after World War II, and underwent its first major renovation 23 years ago.
Their poor market conditions prompted former Iloilo City mayor Jerry Treñas to have a P2 billion PPP with SM Prime for two historic and cultural heritage markets in the city.
Although the city spent nothing on these two market developments, Treñas had been heavily criticized for entering into the PPP.
But he endured all the opposition from various sectors, including the media.
Now, Treñas’ continued pursuit of such a PPP has borne fruit.
Iloilo Central Market and Iloilo Center Market now boast three-storey structures, each with a section of shops: SM Central Market and Iloilo and SM In Iloilo Center Market. The combination has been a boon for the city’s tourism.
“Both public markets are now part of the tourism package of our city,” Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu told Rappler on Friday, May 15. “Both serve as models of public markets throughout the country because… they have a shopping section, so (they) are more than normal.”
Sy-led SM Prime, one of the largest integrated property developers in Asia, relaunched Iloilo Central Market and Iloilo Center Market on a 50-50 basis.
Each structure has 50% public market and 50% retail space with roof parking space.
Success
As a result, the city “market tour” has witnessed success.
Out of the ordinary”batch and news-thing tourism,” Iloilo Central Market and Iloilo Central Market, due to public curiosity, are now “packed” with local, national and foreign tourists every day because of their unique feature of having a shopping area.
The Iloilo Central Market and the Iloilo Center Market, which are home to 2,000 market vendors, are cleaner, attracting more tourists to come to shop, eat and relax.
An interesting new trick is the daily transactions within both markets.
Treñas-Chu said they hired an event organizer just to figure out how best to make Iloilo Central Market and Iloilo Terminal Market family-oriented markets and tourist attractions as well.
“It was unexpected how these two public markets that were once ridiculed for being dirty and shabby but (have) now turned into the main tourist spots of the city,” Treñas-Chu said.
Iloilo City as a benchmark
In addition, Treñas-Chu said the city has recently earned the moniker “Benchmarking Capital” of the Philippines based on PPP.
“Yes, unexpectedly, but it is happening now,” Tren̈as-Chu added.
“That’s why almost every day we have visitors from other local government units across the country, making comparisons in our two public markets,” Treñas-Chu said.
Visitors from other local government units now want to know how the PPP public market is “working big” in Iloilo City.
Maricel Mabaquiao, head of the Iloilo City Local Economic Enterprise Department (LEED), Maricel Mabaquiao, said they are targeting more than P100 million in market revenue this year.
Last year, the city government exceeded its market revenue of P81 million by generating P101 million.
“This year, together with the newly developed ICM and ITM, we hope to once again surpass our target of more than P100 million in market revenue,” Mabaquiao said.
He said that with a section of stores in Iloilo Central Market and Iloilo Center Market, they can already feel the impact after eight months.
Although they do not have full details on the financial contribution of the stores’ equipment to the two businesses, Mabaquiao said he expects that “we will find it soon.”
The PPP scheme for the public markets of the two cities has a life span of 25 years, extendable for another 25 years.
Under Section 21 of the PPP contract, the tenant – SM Prime – will be responsible for the operation, maintenance and management of the shopping malls for all public markets.
The lessee – the city government – under Section 22, will manage the operation, maintenance and management of the market share in the two markets.
Every seven years, SM Prime will renovate and upgrade all public markets.
Example of PPP
But what makes this PPP also unique is that the tenant must introduce Ilonggo investors as tenants in the mall section of the Iloilo Central Market.
But in the Iloilo Central Market, the shops are open to both Ilonggo and non-Ilonggo investors.
Each stall in the market section of Iloilo Central Market and Iloilo Central Market measures 2×2 meters with a monthly rent of P420 per month for permanent vendors, and P20 per day via cash ticket for short-term vendors.
David Abraham Garcia, head of the city’s PPP unit, said that nationwide, Iloilo City has the only successful or exemplary PPP for the public market among cities with many cities and key areas.
Garcia did not deny that since his initiation in 2022 of the construction work, the redevelopment of the Iloilo Central Market and the Iloilo Center Market had turned into “battlegrounds” because of controversies and even criticism from the media.
Many vendors feared that they would be displaced once the Iloilo Central Market and the Iloilo Center Market were redeveloped.
“The rumors about the alleged displacement of the original vendors and the monthly rent of the booth were not true,” said Garcia.
The Iloilo Central Market and the Iloilo Center Market now serve as model public markets throughout the country.
“And we are proud of these two markets of ours now. This is for our dear vendors and investors,” Treñas-Chu said. “Beyond their fresh, clean and beautiful looks, they add to our pride and honor as Ilonggos.”
Uswag Negosyo Academy for vendors
And to complete the redevelopment of the market, the city government enrolled vendors in the city-run Uswag Negosyo Academy (UNA) for an eight-weekend program.
There, vendors were trained and educated on the latest marketing information, financial skills, among others, so that their business can thrive in challenging times.
UNA was Treñas-Chu’s “brainchild” when he was still a top aide to his father, then-mayor Jerry.
“If we succeeded … to improve our markets, we also need to increase the knowledge and marketing skills of our market vendors,” he said. “This as the redevelopment of the market and the modification of tools, and the improvement of vendors must go together.”
Michelle Aponio, 39, of Veterans Village, Iloilo City, said she was shocked to learn that a dried fish vendor was arrested on Wednesday. “At first, we were afraid of the redevelopment of the market. We thought we would lose our store or our monthly rent would go up. None of that happened.“
(At first we were scared about the market development. We always thought that we would be moved or our monthly market rent would be increased. But none of this happened.)
Aponio, who has been selling at the Iloilo Central Market for more than a decade already, said he now earns around P1,000 a day or P30,000 a month, paying only P420 for monthly rent.
Second-generation vendor Wilnor Waquez, 40, also admitted that, in 15 years, it is the first time they have experienced good sales almost every day.
Aponio and Waquez attributed their high income to the orderliness and neatness of the market.
They now appreciate how important cleanliness is to their daily business, as it greatly attracts customers.
Treñas-Chu, meanwhile, cited his father’s resolve and continued to push earnestly for the reconstruction of the two public markets through PPP, despite facing many obstacles and criticisms.
With these, he inherited an important project that transformed their two historic public markets beyond cultural heritage as they became centers of activity for the growing economy of Iloilo City. – Rappler.com
