Displaced vendors to move into unfinished Mandurriao market

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Vendors displaced by the construction of the new Mandurriao Public Market will soon be relocated to the facility, though the structure remains incomplete more than two years after work began.

The Iloilo City government confirmed that the Iloilo City District Engineering Office (ICDEO) has formally turned over the project, but major components remain unfinished.

Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu said the market will open this September but admitted it falls short of its original design.

She said only 80 of the planned 200 stalls were completed, with 75 allotted for vendors and five for offices, leaving a shortage of 85 stalls for the market’s 160 vendors.

Local Economic Enterprise Office head Maricel Mabaquiao said temporary stalls will be installed inside the market to accommodate all vendors.

Treñas-Chu said the city government has set aside PHP 5.5 million to make the facility usable while a technical team determines how much more funding is needed to finish the project.

The project was planned in three phases: relocation of vendors, construction of the main structure, and completion with a gymnasium, additional stalls, and a sewerage treatment plant.

Only the first two phases were funded and completed, leaving the market partly unusable.

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

J.E. Tico Construction Company Inc., the contractor, said its contract covered only the first and second phases, which it already completed.

The company said the third phase, which included the gym and other facilities, was not part of its scope since no budget was allocated.

The firm also maintained it is not responsible for the delays in the project’s completion.

Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda earlier blamed lapses by the contractor for delays and noncompliance with the program of works.

She said an additional PHP 200 million budget allocation was not fully reflected in the General Appropriations Act due to incomplete project updates.

In July 2024, the City Council revoked the ICDEO’s authority to construct seven delayed infrastructure projects in the city, including the Mandurriao Public Market.

The Office of the Building Official (OBO) reported that Phase 1 of the market had no building permit application and no initial evaluation from the OBO, though the ICDEO completed it in June 2022.

Phase 2 underwent initial evaluation on June 3, 2024, and was endorsed back to the ICDEO on June 28, 2024, but it also lacked a building permit despite being completed.