THE Baguio City Council has ordered the Baguio City Market Authority (BCMA) and City Treasury Office to temporarily suspend all bidding for and awarding of market stall contracts in light of the recently-passed market amnesty ordinance.
The resolution to hold in abeyance was issued following the approval on third and final reading of an ordinance providing market stall owners to resolve violations without facing penalties for a period of three months.
After the grace period of three months in which to resolve violations, subsequent violations will then be met with the proper implementation and levying of penalties in compliance with the city’s tax ordinance.
Under the amnesty ordinance, stall contracts can be transferred upon presenting a Deed of Sale, Waiver of Rights, or acknowledgment by the registered leaseholder of the transfer if the recipient is currently utilizing the stall in question.
Stalls with deceased official leaseholders can be claimed by compulsory heirs upon accomplishment and provision of Extra-Judicial Settlement or Waiver of Rights to designate the new leaseholder.
Meanwhile, subleasing or dummy and mortgaged stalls can be reclaimed by termination of the sublease arrangement, and both the official leaseholder and the sublessor must agree to ownership of the lease contract. A failure to agree is considered cause to revoke the lease contract entirely and declare the stall vacant.
The move is intended to encourage violators to come clean and fix their registration with the government through amnesty in order for the city to straighten out any registration concerns and properly catalogue its 4,000 or so market vendors.
