Baronda blames City Hall for stalled Mandurriao market

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Iloilo City Lone District Rep. Julienne “Jam-Jam” Baronda said City Hall should be held responsible for the stalled completion of the new Mandurriao Public Market despite its turnover.

In a radio interview on Tuesday, Nov. 25, Baronda said the national government had been ready to finance the remaining work on the market.

“People of Iloilo City, you already know the situation in politics, that [some are saying that] the national government’s support is no longer needed because it is I who is initiating it,” she said.

The project is pegged at around PHP200 million, with initial funding including PHP10 million for temporary stalls and PHP90 million for the construction of the main building.

The city government has allocated PHP5.5 million to make the facility usable while a technical team determines how much additional funding is needed to finish the project.

The market was designed in three phases — relocation of vendors, construction of the main structure and a completion phase that included a gymnasium, additional stalls and a sewerage treatment plant.

Baronda said funding for the other phases did not continue due to “delays” in the project’s implementation and the “inefficiency” of a previous Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Iloilo City District Engineering Office (ICDEO) head.

The project’s contractor is J.E. Tico Construction.

Baronda explained that because the Mandurriao market was designed as a multi-year project, it required annual budget allocations.

She said financial support for Phase 2 was affected by the delays, leaving the project in limbo.

She said that after the turnover, the ICDEO’s planning division was supposed to inspect the market to determine what additional work and funding were needed to complete it.

She said the inspection did not push through because the site had already been cordoned off by the city government, reiterating the city’s political situation.

The market stands on city-owned land.

The city government previously flagged a shortfall in vendor stalls inside the market, noting that only 80 of the planned 200 stalls were completed.

Baronda pushed back against claims of poor coordination between the ICDEO and City Hall, saying communication was maintained throughout the pre- and post-implementation stages.

“Unfortunately, the dire political climate of Iloilo City is what hampers all the best projects that we are supposed to implement for so many years,” she said.

Baronda said she is willing to source funding to complete the market and other infrastructure projects in the city.

Among Iloilo City’s six major public markets, Mandurriao is the only one funded through the national budget.

J.E. Tico earlier clarified that its contract covered only the first and second phases of the market, both of which it said were completed.

The third phase, including the construction of a gym and additional facilities, was not part of the firm’s scope due to the absence of funding.

The city government is currently in the adjudication or random selection process that will determine vendor stall assignments inside the market.