Iligan City: The city government on Thursday assured it is pushing forward with the completion of the new Pala-o Public Market through a newly contracted third-party firm while awaiting a ruling from the Court of Appeals (CA).

According to Philippines News Agency, the pending case at the CA involves the city and the original contractor, BM Marketing, which was initially awarded PHP583 million for the project. The City Legal Office (CLO) alleged that BM Marketing failed to meet contract specifications, and an inspection conducted under Mayor Frederick Siao's administration found the market to be only 69.05 percent complete, significantly lower than the 92.7 percent completion previously reported.

'The city can only pay for the actual completed work by BM Marketing - not a centavo more,' the CLO stated. The Pala-o Public Market has faced delays since construction began in 2020. City officials cited the use of substandard materials and noncompliance with project standards as reasons for terminating the original contract.

In February, lone district Rep. Celso Regencia filed a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman in Mindanao. The complaint claims that the local government exceeded the project budget by PHP253.9 million when it contracted a new firm to continue construction.