From a “hayob-hayob” or a setup consisting of makeshift market stalls, the 80-year-old Bago Public Market gets a major facelift as the Sagay City government has invested P62.5 million for its improvement and upgrading in Barangay Maquiling, according to a press release from Sagay PIO.
After two years, the Bago Public Market was officially inaugurated on December 18, and it is poised to be one of the biggest public markets in Sagay.
Sagay City Mayor Narciso Javelosa, Jr. said in his speech that the inauguration of the facility is vital as it is a cultural and economic center in the area where vendors of all sorts converge in the market to sell and exchange goods.
City Engineer Jezreel Alingco said that the project started on August 18, 2022, with a project cost of P62,489,030.
About P60.6M was loaned by the city government, while the city had a counterpart of P2 million for the project which started during the administration of former Mayor now 2nd District Rep. Alfredo Marañon III.
The market now features 7,400 square meters of concretized area with wastewater treatment facility, drainage system, perimeter fence, and materials recovery facility.
The area was also divided into various sections which include 19 restaurant stalls, 16 fruit stalls, 14 sari-sari stalls, 30 RTW stalls, 8 meat counters, 40 fish counters, and 72 for dry goods or bagsakan.
Brgy. Maquiling Captain Miraluna Diotay said that the market has been there since the 1950s and has been a place for the people living in the upland areas of Sagay to market and barter goods.
“During those times, the people from the mountains will go down here and bring their farm products and they will barter it with fish, shrimp paste, dry fish, and other sorts of products found in the lowland area”, Diotay said.
She said that as the years go by, the market has thrived with vendors creating their own makeshift stalls especially every Friday and Saturday, which is considered the market day.
Vendors from Escalante, Toboso, and Cadiz City also sold their goods in the area, making it a vital economic and cultural center in the southern part of Sagay.
The barangay captain also thanked everyone who made the project possible, saying it will uplift the situation of the local vendors who are making a living in the area.
The market will be now under the management of the city’s Environment and Economic Management Office and a public hearing will be conducted to discuss the stall rates of the said public market.
Apart from Bago Public Market, the city government has also improved other major markets in the city, including the Sagay City Farmers’ Market, Vito Public Market, Paraiso Public Market, and the ongoing construction of the new Old Sagay Public Market, which were all started during Mayor Marañon’s administration.*
