A study published in December 2025 by Prince Edike, Engr. Annabelle Tungol, and Rome Labramonte have accurately anticipated the recent shift in financing strategy for the Baguio City Public Market redevelopment.

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On 30 January 2026, Bilyonaryo reported that the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is prepared to finance the Baguio Public Market redevelopment following the exit of the project’s private partner.

Read more about the news here:
https://bilyonaryo.com/2026/01/30/dbp-ready-to-finance-baguio-public-market-redevelopment-after-private-partner-exit/money/

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This development closely aligns with the findings of the authors’ paper titled “Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and Coevolutionary Genetic Algorithm for Public Market Modernization Scenarios for Baguio City,” which applied a rigorous, quantitative decision-making framework to assess competing redevelopment strategies.

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The study evaluated four alternatives:

1. Public–Private Partnership (PPP) with SM Prime Holdings

2. PPP with another private entity

3. Maintaining the status quo

4. Sole government funding through loans

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Using a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach, the paper assessed each alternative against seven weighted criteria drawn from sustainable development and public policy literature: social acceptability, economic viability, environmental footprint, technical quality, implementation speed, corruption-proneness, and local economic development.

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While the SM-led PPP option demonstrated strong technical and economic performance, the analysis revealed that it was critically undermined by low social acceptability, reflecting widespread public resistance to large conglomerate-led developments in the Philippine context. The study highlighted this social dimension as a structural risk capable of destabilising even technically sound projects.

The model ultimately showed that government-backed or alternative financing arrangements offered greater long-term resilience under socio-political constraints—an insight now reflected in the withdrawal of the private partner and DBP’s readiness to step in.

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The authors emphasise that the study did not aim to forecast specific institutional decisions, but rather to demonstrate how structured analytical tools can expose hidden vulnerabilities in complex public infrastructure projects. The convergence between the December 2025 findings and current events underscores the value of evidence-based decision frameworks in public-sector planning.

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The full paper can be accessed here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/397900237_Multi-Criteria_Decision_Analysis_and_Coevolutionary_Genetic_Algorithm_for_Public_Market_Modernization_Scenarios_for_Baguio_City