THE city is in near-frantic mode now to find the best strategy to perk up business at the newly-built three-storey Malimgas Pubic Market which continues to operate at a loss.

Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez and Councilor Jesus Canto, chairman of the city council’s committee on market, in a move to prevent a worse financial disaster in the city under the new city administration, suggested the conduct of a thorough study to find means for the market to earn more.

Both officials were interviewed by newsmen after City Treasurer Romelita Alcantara told the city council that the market was earning only an average of P1.1 million a month when in fact its operating expenses stand at more than P930,000 a month.

There is really a deficit because, the city is still paying more than a P3 million monthly or P11.5 million per quarter for amortization of more than P300 million it borrowed from the Land Bank of the Philippines for the construction of the high-rise market.

Alcantara said the city is giving around P100,000 a day in subsidy to its new market that is not earning since it was built by the past city administration three years ago.

Two hundred twenty-six stalls in the new market are still vacant, 80 in the first floor and 146 in the second floor. The third floor as well as the roof deck was reserved for pay parking and yet no car has been using them because of an engineering flaw at its sharp incline.

Canto suggested the lowering of stall rental rates affordable to all so the vacant stalls would be occupied but Alcantara said if this is done, the city will suffer more as it is paying a debt service of P45 million a year or P11.5 every quarter.

The structure, whose second floor is air-conditioned, was built by the past city administration to become a first of its kind mall-market combination.

When Mayor Alipio Fernandez took over the reins of the city government, he found the market still being subsidized by other income sources of the city for it to survive.

At present, the expenses in the new market include P300,000 for electric consumption, P200,000 for janitorial services, P180,000 for water consumption, P140,000 for security services, P104,000 for insurance premium and P5,800 for maintenance of the escalator.

Vice Mayor Fernandez, owner of chains of malls and supermarkets in Northern Luzon, said the best remedy is to cut the high operational costs, adding that the market can perhaps adopt the policy “clean as you go” for stallowners there in order to reduce the high cost of janitorial services.

This means, she said, that before the stallholders leave for the day, they should make it a policy to clean not only their stalls but also their premises so that minimal janitorial service would be needed.