OZAMIZ CITY, Philippines?Women vendors in this city used to joke that when it rains?and it rains a lot in this city?it pours both inside and outside their dilapidated and decades-old public market.

The old public market had gaping holes on its roof, making the vendors scamper away from the rain with their goods in tow.

It was as if the city had been forgotten. But not anymore.

Their new public market is as big as a mall, modern and squeaky clean.

The P161 million public mall is a two-story edifice with 14,264 square meters of available space and facilities for market-goers and stall holders. It can accommodate up to 955 stalls and 14 spaces for rent, rooms for offices, banks and food chains, a recreational area, janitorial services and security offices, with waste bins and receptacles, a stage and parking areas.

Commercial operations in Ozamiz City started last May 29, and the mall is bright, spacious and secure, and sanitary.

?At full occupancy, and with efficient collection and use of fees, the public mall can be a good source of revenue for the city,? says City Mayor Reynaldo Parojinog.

Strategic importance

?Our public market is in the heart of the city so it?s very convenient for residents. Those who buy from the hardware pass by the market. Those who arrive from Cebu or Manila, when they disembark from the ship, they pass by the market before they proceed to their homes. Others who buy medicine, they pass by the market. Others buy spare parts, they also pass by the market. So it?s really very convenient,? says Lani dela Vega, a meat stall owner, in Filipino.

Florian Steinberg, senior urban development specialist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) which provided funds for the project, cited the strategic importance of the mall in this part of Mindanao.

?This public market-mall is by far the biggest and most modern in the Misamis Oriental region and will draw customers from afar,? he notes.

Out of the total cost of P161 million, P138 million came from the ADB?s Mindanao Basic Urban Sector Services (MBUSS) Project, P15.38 million from Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and P7.48 million as the local government?s equity.

It is the biggest subproject funded by the MBUSS project, which is being implemented by the Department of Interior and Local Government.

MBUSS has improved access to basic urban infrastructure and essential municipal services in about 40 local government units throughout Mindanao, based on their own needs.

It covers the construction and rehabilitation of public markets, gymnasiums, transport terminals, cultural centers, water supply and municipal buildings.

Aside from the infrastructure and investments component, it also has an institutional capacity building component to help LGUs better manage the infrastructure projects to make sure they stay for the long haul.

Under a grant component, women vendors were also provided skills training and values formation to augment their income.
?It really helped us a lot because we learned a lot from the skills training, which we are able to apply in our businesses. We earn a little more and I hope it will further help us improve our businesses,? says sari-sari store owner Lolita Hernan in Filipino.

Quality of life

?The MBUSS is among the initiatives being undertaken by the government, which the ADB is assisting to improve the quality of life in Mindanao,? says Steinberg.

Project beneficiaries are mostly urban communities in Mindanao who now have better access to basic services.

The P46.1-million Buluan public market was the first MBUSS urban infrastructure project in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and 32 subprojects are now completed.

There are eight more subprojects that are either ongoing or ready for inauguration.

Besides inaugurating the Ozamiz City public mall, President Macapagal-Arroyo also inaugurated the Kapatagan municipal hall in Lanao del Norte in 2006.

The towns of Jabonga, Agusan del Sur; Datu Paglas, Maguindanao; and Jasaan, Misamis Oriental, also have new municipal halls.

The new public markets are in R. T. Lim Zamboanga Sibugay; Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur; Alicia in Zamboanga Sibugay; Datu Odin Sinsuat and Buluan towns in Maguindanao; Mati, Davao Oriental; Makilala, North Cotabato; Guipos, Zamboanga del Sur; Hagonoy, Davao del Sur; Barobo, Surigao del Sur; and Cabadbaran in Agusan del Sur. New transport terminals, meanwhile, were built in Panabo City, Isulan, Sultan Kudarat and in Kidapawan City.

Water supply system beneficiaries are Impasugong, Bukidnon; Alamada, North Cotabato; Tago, Surigao del Sur; and Naawan, Misamis Oriental.

Heavy equipment

Heavy equipment were provided for Norala, South Cotabato; Lugait, Misamis Oriental; Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur; and Hagonoy, Davao del Sur. Gymnasiums were built for San Isidro, Surigal del Norte; Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte; and Pilar, Surigao del Norte.

There is a new auditorium in Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte, while an exhibition center was built in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.

Ozamiz City used to be known as Misamis City. It was renamed after Jose Fortich Ozamiz, touted as the ?forgotten hero of Misamis? because he is virtually unknown among his province mates despite being its first governor, its only senator and for his pioneering work in the resistance movement during World War II.

A public mall in his honor will certainly make him live on.

(The author is an ADB national officer.)