Planned Baguio market upgrade called off
BAGUIO CITY—Retail developer SM Prime Holdings has withdrawn its public-private partnership (PPP) proposal to build a P4.5-billion multilevel facility intended to replace the city’s century-old public market.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong announced on Saturday that the shopping mall giant had pulled out its plan to construct a four-story building that would have accommodated all 4,000 vendors currently selling meats, vegetables, fish, clothes and other goods. The facility would have been under the full control of the City Hall.
The developer had also planned to build a smaller retail facility and an eight-level parking building under its management. Additionally, it had agreed to construct another market facility at the city’s slaughterhouse compound to serve as a temporary relocation site for vendors during construction.
The proposed 50-year lease would have covered more than three hectares of the roughly six-hectare market lot, one of Baguio’s most valuable properties.
The plan drew strong public opposition over fears of the “mallification” of the historic trading center. SM currently operates SM City Baguio at its Luneta Hill property, across the Baguio Cathedral.
“It appears that Baguio City—the executive and legislative branches, the public market vendors and other stakeholders—have several matters to settle before the project may proceed,” wrote Helene Go, SM’s vice president for legal affairs, in a Dec. 19 letter to Magalong.
PPP deal scrapped
With the withdrawal, the city can no longer count on a PPP investment for the market, even as the city council begins 2026 by advancing ordinances to convert valuable public assets into business enterprises aimed at boosting Baguio’s economy.
These enterprises include the Maharlika Livelihood Complex, built during the Marcos era, and a shopping mall that will come under city control by 2028. The legislative agenda is intended to sustain Baguio’s status as the wealthiest city outside Metro Manila.
The city council will address SM’s withdrawal once the mayor’s office transmits the letter, Councilor Jose Molintas, an Ibaloy human rights lawyer, said. The council had planned to continue reviewing SM’s negotiated PPP offer during its first session of the year.
Community approval
The SM proposal had faced potential changes during early council discussions as public clamor grew for the city to reject the plan.
Councilor Peter Fianza, an Ibaloy lawyer and former city administrator, said SM’s decision reflected multiple concerns that the project might not gain community approval.
“I guess that’s SM’s biggest investment in the city—acceptance,” he said.
