Court junks TRO vs redevelopment of 2 public markets by SM Prime in Iloilo City
By Tara Yap
ILOILO CITY – A Regional Trial Court (RTC) has junked a petition for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the redevelopment of two public markets in Iloilo City by SM Prime Holdings Inc.
In a Sept. 8 resolution, Judge Victorino Oliveros Maniba Jr. of the RTC Branch 39 dismissed the petition filed by the Association of Stall Owners and Transient Vendors (Astraven) for failing “to show meritorious grounds for the issuance of the TRO.”
Astraven, led by its president Rex J. Donasco, filed the TRO against the Iloilo City government led by Mayor Jerry Treñas and the Iloilo City Council represented by Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon last August.
They are opposing the 25-year lease agreement between the Iloilo City government and SM Prime to redevelop the Central Market and the Iloilo Terminal Market for fear of being displaced from their livelihood.
Treñas welcomed the court ruling. “It is time we move forward so that the greater interests of the majority of the Ilonggo consumers and vendors will be protected,” Treñas said.
SM Prime, which made an unsolicited offer, is redeveloping the Central Market and the Iloilo Terminal Market under a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.
SM Prime is investing at least P3 billion for the two public markets.