Fair deal, affordable prices in Carbon market pushed

THE incoming Cebu City administration has committed to prioritizing the tenure and stability of vendors, as well as minimizing the increase in prices of goods and services, through proposed changes in the guidelines for amending the city market code. This initiative is a key part of Mayor-elect Nestor Archival’s agenda for the renegotiation of the Carbon Public Market renovation project.

In an interview on Monday, June 2, 2025, Archival said he has yet to meet with representatives from Megawide Construction Corp. to review the existing 2021 Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the Cebu City Government and Megawide. He characterized the current agreement as “disadvantageous” to the vendors.

“Tenure [is important] for the vendors, regarding where they will be placed. If there are 6,000 of them, where will they all be put?” he said, emphasizing the need to ensure sufficient space for all.

Archival celebrated his 67th birthday on Monday with the Carbon vendors, attending a mass celebration and participating in a boodle fight buffet within the public market vicinity. He highlighted his strong connection to the common people, recalling his own experience as a vendor at a public market in his youth.

The mayor-elect voiced concerns that the modernization project, led by Cebu2World Development Inc., a subsidiary of Megawide, could lead to increased tariffs and the displacement of smaller vendors, potentially replacing them with larger, more mall-like establishments. His primary goal in the renegotiation, he stressed, is to ensure vendors retain their opportunity to earn a living and that commodity prices in the Carbon market remain affordable.

However, Archival clarified that he has no intention of canceling the contract. Instead, he indicated a preference to halt ongoing work at the market to facilitate these renegotiations. He also plans to review the revenue-sharing scheme between the City Government and Megawide.

He argued that the city could generate significantly higher income, potentially P50 million, without the current private partnership. This figure starkly contrasts with the P15 million (originally P5 million, which he opposed during deliberations) currently derived from the arrangement. Archival asserted that the Cebu City Government is capable of financing the redevelopment of the Carbon Public Market itself.

He questioned the financial benefits of the current agreement for Cebu City. He noted that the City’s equity in the eight-hectare Carbon Market is estimated at P8 billion, yet the existing joint venture’s capitalization stands at P5.5 billion. Archival concluded that the current development prioritizes aesthetics over the livelihoods of the vendors.

This stance aligns with the long-standing protests by various Carbon market vendor associations, who have consistently voiced fears of rental hikes, displacement and a loss of their traditional market character. Archival, who has been a consistent ally of these vendors, previously moved to restore the Carbon market’s zoning classification to “institutional,” a motion that was not passed by the City Council in December 2024.

The Carbon market, recognized as the oldest and largest farmer’s market in Cebu City, holds significant cultural and economic importance to the community.  / EHP