By Cris Fernan Bayaga
CEBU – The Carbon-hanong Alyansa, an alliance of progressive vendors in Cebu City’s Carbon Market, denounced the ongoing redevelopment of the public market.
This stems from the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the Cebu City Government and Megawide Construction Corporation’s Cebu2World Development Inc. (C2W).
Vendors said that the redevelopment would adversely affect their livelihood, citing plans that would privatize the public market.
The group staged a protest on February 5 inside the market after receiving information that C2W would assume responsibility for collecting vendors’ fees starting February 15. The shift would move collection from public to private management, covering rental payments and entrance fees required for vendors to sell their goods.
The group also opposed the construction of a new building called Block 2 within the market complex which vendors said proceeded without prior consultation or notice.
There was police presence during the protest, with some officers reportedly discouraging protesters from campaigning against privatization.
Daisy Jovelyn Gomez, chairperson of Carbon-hanong Alyansa and a fish vendor for three decades, said that the majority of vendors do not support the modernization and are demanding the junking of C2W’s JVA.
Daisy Jovelyn Gomez reviews documents related to the privatization of the market (Photo by Cris Fernan Bayaga/Bulatlat)
“Vendors face the risk of displacement. The contract clearly labels those without stalls as ‘illegal settlers,’ which could lead the city government to demolish public vending spaces,” Gomez said.
In an open forum organized by Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival on February 13, he said that fee collection would continue to be supervised by the local government. However, his position on whether construction of new buildings would be halted or whether the contract would be reviewed remains unclear.
Gomez said that there is a difference between working conditions before and after C2W took over management. She noted that in 2021 there were more than 72 ambulant vendors operating in the area and that number has since dropped to 31. She said that it might decline further as redevelopment continues toward 2026.
Sol Jumao-as, who has worked in the market for over 40 years selling coconuts, said that many of her regular customers stopped coming after the redevelopment began in 2021, resulting in a steady decline in her daily earnings.
Sol Jumao-as peels coconut husks at her stall (Photo by Cris Fernan Bayaga/Bulatlat)
“My business used to do well before, but we were demolished because of Megawide. Now customers have slowed down, and your capital gradually ends up being used just for food. These days, people hardly come here anymore; the area has become difficult to access,” Jumao-as said.
She added that only a few coconut vendors remain as some stopped operating due to rising rental fees and declining customers. Suppliers currently pay a P1 entrance fee per coconut, but beginning March this year, that fee will increase to P5 per coconut.
Gomez said fee hikes are among the most immediate concerns vendors face. Before the modernization, ambulant vendors paid P10. This has since doubled. She said that further increases are expected.
Under Cebu City Ordinance No. 2719, market stall rentals per square meter per day are mandated to increase by P3 pesos annually. In 2024, rent was set at P15. This year it has risen to P26. The ordinance also imposes penalties for late payment, a 2% monthly interest on unpaid dues. Vendors who fail to settle payments within 30 days risk eviction, with their stalls declared vacant.
A vegetable vendor chats with one of her regular customers (Photo by Cris Fernan Bayaga/Bulatlat)
Amid these increases, Jumao-as said that vendors are expected to occupy spaces as small as one square meter, barely enough room for her coconuts and for her to work comfortably. She said that many units in the newly built privatized buildings remain vacant as customers rarely go to upper floors and prefer to see stalls at a glance to save time.
She said that she is not against improvements in the market. What she opposes, she said, is development that does not place ordinary vendors and consumers at the center of its vision. For her, genuine progress takes into account what people need and want.
“Who wouldn’t want things to be clean, orderly, and nice? Of course we want that. But the government’s role should be to provide service for the masses. The government’s aim is to serve, not to earn. Once you hand it over to a private entity, profit is what they will prioritize,” Jumao-as said.
Floriblanca Flores, a fruit vendor whose parents were also market vendors in Carbon, said that C2W would dominate the market once its plans under the agreement take effect. She said that the company would inspect all goods entering the market and determine how they are priced and distributed; effectively placing control of the supply chain in its hands.
Vendors said that C2W aims to control the entire market system, shifting from a public space to a privately dominated operation. They say that the plan would turn Carbon into a “wholesalers’ hub” where prices are regulated and all goods entering the market must pass through the corporation.
They said that such centralization could also affect farmers not just in Cebu but from regions in Visayas and Mindanao. They may be forced to sell through middlemen, in this case C2W, instead of directly to vendors. Centralized pricing, they said, would limit vendors’ autonomy to set competitive prices, potentially making goods less marketable.
Ambulant vendors talk to their customers about vegetable prices (Photo by Cris Fernan Bayaga/Bulatlat)
Flores said that the recent protest showed that thousands of vendors oppose the redevelopment agreement. She said that government officials must remember whom they are meant to serve.
“The real power still lies with the people. But those in government should support and listen to the calls of everyone, especially since they are the ones who ultimately decide what will be implemented. Politicians must listen to the collective voice. That’s why people need to be more assertive so that politicians who have not yet heard our appeal will finally listen,” she told Bulatlat. (AMU, DAA)
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