Amended city authority and regulation
- Subsection (cc) of Section 18 of Republic Act No. 409, as amended by Section 1 of Republic Act No. 6039, authorizes provisions subject to ordinances issued by the Department of Health in accordance with law.
- The city is required to provide for the establishment and maintenance and fix the fees for the use of and to regulate public stables, laundries, and baths, and public markets and slaughterhouses.
- The city is directed to prohibit or permit the establishment or operation within the city limits of public markets and slaughterhouses by any person, entity, association, or corporation other than the city (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)).
Market vendor rights and definitions
- A person occupying one or more stalls in any public market—including privately owned but city-operated markets with or without lease contract with the city—is defined as a “market vendor” for purposes of the amended provision (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–II(1)).
- Vendors are treated as market vendors if they occupy stalls upon approval of this act (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–II(1)).
- The city must execute lease contracts within a reasonable time from approval of Republic Act No. 6039 with stall occupants whether registered or not with the city treasurer’s office (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–II(1)).
- If the city refuses to execute the lease contract with a stallholder, the matter must be referred to the market committee, whose decision is final (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–II(1)).
Market fees, back rentals, and vendor restoration
- Upon approval, all market fees or rentals must be based on the old rates existing as of July 11, 1968 (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–II(2)).
- For newly established or constructed markets, the municipal board, upon recommendation of the market committee, shall fix the market fees or rentals (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–II(2)).
- All vendors’ back rentals incurred from October 16, 1968 up to the date of approval of Republic Act No. 6039 are condoned (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–II(3)).
- Vendors whose stalls were extra-judicially declared vacant and closed for failure to pay rentals from October 16, 1968 to the time this act is approved must be restored to their stalls (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–II(4)).
- Temporarily displaced vendors from construction of a new market must be given first priority to occupy in the new market as many stalls as previously occupied by them, but may not occupy more than three stalls (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–II(5)).
Payment limits and automatic forfeiture
- All vendors must daily pay their prescribed market fees (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc), introductory clause under Provided, That).
- Vendors are prohibited from accumulating back rentals in excess of fifteen days (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc), introductory clause under Provided, That).
- After due notice of demand, a vendor who fails to pay back rentals must automatically forfeit rights as stallholders, and the vendor’s stalls may be closed by the market administrator (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc), introductory clause under Provided, That).
Construction, relocation, and market closure
- In all new markets constructed to replace old ones, allocation of stalls, sectioning of markets, and the kind of commodities to be sold must be left to the discretion of the market committee (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–III(1)).
- City-owned and operated public markets must not be disposed of, closed, destroyed, sold, or transferred until all vendors are relocated or transferred by the city government at its expense to another temporary or new public market (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–III(2)).
- Notice of the city’s intention or plans to transfer or relocate must be given to all concerned vendors at least one hundred twenty days before the actual transfer or relocation (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–III(2)).
- Temporarily relocated vendors must be given preference and priority to occupy stalls in the new site, consistent with the rule under Subsection II(5) and III(1) (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–III(2)).
- Cargo vehicles bearing foodstuffs or other commodities ordered by or regularly supplied to market vendors must be allowed to unload their goods for immediate delivery to the vendors’ stalls (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–III(3)).
- Cargo vehicles must be prohibited from parking in the area of the market for the purpose of selling or disposing their goods either to the consuming public or to vendors with stalls in the market (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–III(3)).
Market committee creation and functions
- The city mayor must create a market committee within thirty days from approval of Republic Act No. 6039, with the market administrator as chairman and representatives as members from: the city treasurer, the municipal board, the Chamber of Filipino Retailers, Inc., and the Manila Market Vendors Association Inc. (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–IV(“Within thirty days…” clause)).
- The market committee must formulate, recommend, and adopt, subject to ratification of the municipal board and approval of the mayor, policies and rules repealing or amending existing market code provisions embodied in the compilation of City Ordinances No. 1600, so long as they are not inconsistent with Republic Act No. 6039 (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–IV(1)).
- After new rules and regulations and modified provisions take effect, any modified, amendatory, or repealing provisions of the market code must be codified into a new market code within one year from approval of Republic Act No. 6039 (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–IV(1)).
- Internal rules and regulations of the market committee must not require ratification by the municipal board or the mayor (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–IV(1)).
- Market committee members must receive per diems of twenty-five pesos per meeting or public hearing (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–IV(2)).
- Government agency representatives remain as members as long as they maintain their government positions; representatives from the Chamber of Filipino Retailers, Inc. and the Manila Market Vendors Association Inc. serve depending on their organizations (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–IV(2)).
- The tenure of market committee members must not be more than two years (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–IV(2)).
- The market committee must have a separate office with necessary personnel and funds included in appropriations for market administration and market committee (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–IV(3)).
- With assistance and recommendation by the city engineer on structural building specification, the market committee must decide on building plans for all market construction projects and determine which market receives priority for remodeling, replacement, or reconstruction, subject to ratification by the municipal board and approval by the mayor (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–IV(4)).
- The market committee must recommend the mode of disposition and disbursement of expenditures under the sinking fund created under Republic Act No. 6039 (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–IV(5)).
Public market sinking fund and allocation
- A public market sinking fund must be created from thirty per centum of the annual gross receipts from market fees (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–V).
- The sinking fund must be used to amortize or finance: construction of new markets, remodeling or replacing old market buildings, purchase of privately owned buildings utilized as public markets, purchase of new market sites, and construction of market buildings and facilities (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–V).
- If self-liquidating old markets have not been replaced, reconstructed, or remodeled according to the specifications adopted and recommended by the market committee, the gross revenue from all market fee collections must be apportioned and appropriated as follows: 70% to the general fund of the city and 30% to the sinking fund (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–V, proviso).
Private market operation limits and receipts
- Operators of private properties utilized as public markets, and their agents, may collect market rentals not higher than the amount being collected by the city government (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–VI(1)).
- Market collectors must immediately issue corresponding receipts for payments made by every market vendor or market fees, with the receipt dated on the same day of issue and with the corresponding stall number written thereon (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–VI(2)).
- Failure to comply with the immediate-issuance receipt requirement constitutes illegal exaction punishable under the Revised Penal Code (Section 1, amended Subsection (cc)–VI(2)).
Penalties and enforcement consequences
- Violation of Republic Act No. 6039 is punishable by a fine of not less than two hundred pesos but not more than two thousand pesos and by imprisonment for a period of not less than six months but not exceeding one year, at the discretion of the Court (Section 3).
- Disqualification to hold public office attaches if the violation is committed by a public official or employee (Section 3).
Separability, repeals, and final rules
- If any provision of Republic Act No. 6039 is declared invalid, the provisions not affected remain in force and effect (Section 2).
- All laws, rules, and regulations inconsistent with Republic Act No. 6039 are repealed or modified accordingly (Section 4).