IT was with deep sadness and nostalgia that I read your incisive editorial entitled “God’s Wrath, Man’s Folly” in your Nov. 13th issue, about the almost complete destruction by fire last Nov. 07, 2008 of that landmark modern three-story NAGA CITY PUBLIC MARKET, with roof-top parking, which has been the pride of our city for the past 43 years, as one of the largest, if not the largest and most modern public market in our country, and which became the model for other public markets, like the Tabaco City, Albay, public market.

        By way of a little history, which some of your older readers may recall, it was built by the Felipe-Sibulo City Administration in 1964-’65, after the 1963 local elections in which we ran and won as independent candidates for City Mayor and Vice-Mayor.

        Our principal election promise was to build a modern Supermarket of concrete and steel on the site of the centuries-old, dilapidated and unsanitary public market, which our opponents branded as an idle dream. As soon as we were installed in office, we conducted public biddings for the plans and the construction, which was estimated at P6 million only for the whole project, consisting of 3 stories of concrete and steel on the 11,000 sq. m. lot of the old public market, or a total floor area of 33,000 sq. m.

        With a modest loan of P6 million only from GSIS under then GM Ramon A. Diaz, the project was completed and inaugurated in 1965, with Sen. Gerry Roxas, then President of the LP, as guest of honor.

        It may be just pure coincidence that the huge and air-conditioned SM Supermarket will soon be completed next year at the Central Business District (CBD) in Bgy. Triangulo, to which the displaced small entrepreneurs in the burned Naga Public Market may transfer in the meantime, while the City Administration is finalizing plans for its reconstruction at still unknown cost, together with the Naga Coliseum, whose estimated cost is P155 million.

        Thank you and more power to your unending crusade for clean and honest govertment throughout our nation!

RAMON H. FELIPE, JR.
City Mayor, 1963-’65
Congressman, 1965-’69, 1969-’72
COMELEC Commissioner, 1984-’86
COMELEC Chairman, 1986-’88




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-- Editor