Market stalls not transferrable to kin of leaseholders

BAGUIO CITY – Stalls at the Baguio City Market are no longer automatically transferrable to heirs of the leaseholders in the event of their sickness, old age or death. This policy has been in effect since August last year via Resolution No. 17 series of 2016 of the Baguio City Market Authority (BCMA) chaired by Mayor Mauricio Domogan. In the resolution, the BCMA said the Baguio City Tax Ordinance No. 2000-001 does not allow transfer of or waiver of leasehold rights over market stalls but these were “approved only to heirs of family members of the leaseholder or lessee due to sickness, old age or even death.” It said that the terms of the lease contracts forged between the City and the lessees clearly states that “the lessee shall not sell, cede, assign or otherwise transfer his or her leaseholds rights” and that the “Lessee shall not in any circumstances, mortgage the stall nor enter into partnership with any other person or entity in connection with occupancy thereof and/or over the ownership of goods therein.” The resolution noted that section 158 of Ordinance 2000-001 provides that “in case of death of incapacity of the stallholder, his or her spouse, children, parents may apply for the same stall and shall be preferred over all other applicants.” “However, instead of surrendering the stalls to the City, lessees have since resorted to mortgaging their rights and when they can no longer perform their obligation under the mortgage, waive the same in favor of the mortgagee; sell and waive said right to the buyer or assign to their heirs and often times, (these result) to bickering among them,” the BCMA said. By virtue of the said resolution, the City denied all applications for transfer or waiver of leasehold rights over the stalls. In the same measure, the BCMA requested the City Council to pass a resolution disallowing such transactions “to curtail the circumvention of the policy of no selling or mortgaging of market stalls./Aileen P. Refuerzo