THE city’s Public-Private Partnership for the People – Selection Committee (P4-SC) has recently finalized the thirty-four terms that will be subject to the prescribed negotiations with the SM Prime Holdings, the company that was given by the local government the Original Proponent Status (OPS), on the proposed development of the city public market
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Pen֮a stated that the 45-day negotiation period will formally start once Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong approves the 34 negotiation terms that were prepared to be able to push through with the long-overdue development of the city market.
However, he clarified that the negotiation is just part of the 19-step process prescribed under the P4 ordinance that is why no award has yet been made by the city to SM for the market development project.
Part of the terms that will be subject to negotiations with SM Prime Holdings includes the land area that will be developed, the term of the lease agreement, the buildable area and building footprint, the conditions for the putting up of the relocation sites, among others.
According to him, the prescribed 45-day negotiation period could be extended depending on the advancements that will be done by the designated negotiators as the same will be focusing on the technical and financial aspects of the proposed market development.
Among those who actively participated in the crafting of the terms of reference that will be the subject of negotiations include the members of the P4 committee, consultants, and volunteers who were able to provide important inputs that resulted in the formulation of the terms of reference for the multi-billion market development project.
Dela Pen֮a said that if the negotiations fail in any one of the 34 terms of reference, then the whole process will be considered a failure, and the local government will have to look for other modes on how to pursue the project that has been stalled for over two decades now.
Dela Pena said that the final terms of reference of the project have been transmitted to the City Mayor’s Office for approval after which the ongoing process can proceed to the negotiation stage where both parties will be presenting their respective positions on each of the items included in the terms for reference.
He said that the local government will continue engaging the different associations of market vendors to inculcate into their minds that they will not be displaced when the project is implemented.
If both parties reach an agreement during the negotiation stage, the terms of reference will then be subjected to the Swiss challenge, one of the processes outlined under the P4 ordinance, where interested companies wanting to challenge the original proponent will have a chance to submit better offers which the original proponent is also entitled to match.
