Balagtas Pubic Market Case Study

Bringing back the festivity of Balagtas Pubic Market before the fire happened was also a debatable issue. After renovating the Balagtas Public Market, the market somehow loses its appeal and never became how it used to be before, primarily due to the growing competition between the public market and the nearby Fortune Market. This greatly impacts the SMEs owners in Balagtas Public Market and the marketplace as a whole. In relation, this is the response of credible SMEs when asked regarding how the government develops solutions in order to bring back the festivity of Balagtas Pubic Market:
Yung ang pinagtutulung-tulungan naming mga taga-palengke. Yung ibalik ang dating sigla ng palengke na katulad nung dati. Yun ang pinapipilitan ng asosasyon,

Those who are staying there. They first gave, January 20. Then February 28. Until now, nothing. Until now we are still adjusting because it is a must to bringing back the festivity of the public market. Not the festivity of the private.)

The above statement indicates the common supplication of most SMEs owners that the researchers interviewed. The mayor gave deadlines for the SMEs owners in the Fortune Market who are illegally staying there until January 20 to transfer and then, February 28. However, the issue is presently not given emphasis. The following statement also supports this matter:
Kasi lumalabas na parang kesyo merong silang malakas na pwede nating sabihin na backer o supporter nila na nandoon, na nakakausap nila sa loob. Eh nabibigyan sila ng permit. Pero ang sabi naman doon sa loob, doon sa munisipyo, wala pang permit. Pero yung deadline na dapat eh February 28 eh papanik sila doon. Supposedly, March 1. Pumanik na sila sa dito kaso wala. Walang bumabalik. So yung… yung pangamba namin e na baka maging ganito parin ang magiging aahh, sitwasyon namin, (Transcript FVV10, page 18, line no.

Hence, SMEs owners need to recover personally in the first place before recovering their business, an aspect that some business recovery loan does not take into account (De Ruiter, 2011). In line with this, the owners who experience fire in Balagtas Public Market help themselves in coping with the situation through personal support system including personal encouragements. Most of the SMEs owners who experience fire integrate huge resilience to recover what they have lost. Resiliency pertains to the capacity of people and the physical, social, and economic systems within them to survive, adapt, and grow no matter what kinds of chronic stresses and acute shocks they experience (Rodin, 2015). The importance of resiliency for SMEs owners’ present conditions is greatly evident with the following statements:
Kailangan lang maging malakas ang loob nila. Subukan nilang uli itayo yung negosyo nila dahil kung hindi naman sila tatayo ulit, wala. Walang mangyayari. Diba? (Transcript FVV8, page 13, line no. 572-575)
(You only need to have courage. They need to try to rebuild their business because if they will not try, nothing will happen. Nothing will happen. Right?)

The above statement of taking risk and greater courage to recover is also supported of this