CEBU CITY, Philippines – While expressing their support on the Carbon Public Market redevelopment project, vendors wanted several concerns addressed before this should be allowed to take off.
Ester Tenchavez, president of the Carbon Market Unit 1 Vendors Association, is requesting a meeting with officials of the Cebu City Government and project proponent Megawide Construction Corporation so they could discuss these concerns.
“OK ta sa project arun manindut atong Carbon dinhi sa Cebu. But then gusto namo nga makiglingkod mi sa leaders sa LGU (local government unit) ug sa Megawide,” said Tenchavez.
(We are okay with the project implementation that will improve the Carbon [Market] in Cebu. But then, we also wanted to sit down with leaders of the LGU and Megawide.)
READ: Megawide proposes multi-use, mid-rise complex for Carbon Market
“As the number one stakeholder, kami vendors, gusto lang namo nga naa mi iclarify. Naa mi gustong iclarify nga mga issues. Pero wala ni nag-oppose sa project,” she added.
(Being the number one stakeholder, we vendors, wanted to clarify something. We wanted to clarify some issues. But this does not mean that we oppose the project.)
However, Tenchavez, who also heads seven other vendors associations that are based in the different units of the Carbon Public Market Complex, did not specify the concerns that they wanted discussed with city and Megawide officials.
Last January, the city government and Megawide signed a joint venture agreement (JVA) to formally start the Carbon Public Market rehabilitation project.
READ: Carbon redevelopment slated to start this March
Carbon Market, the largest wet market in Cebu, houses over 4,000 vendors including ambulant vendors.
The Civil works for the project that will be implemented in at least four phases, is expected to already start during the first quarter of this year.
It will cost P5 billion, with all expenses shouldered by Megawide.
Other vendors, like Evelyn Aragon, who is the director of the flowers section of the Freedom Park Vendors’ Association, has also expressed her support for the project.
“It’s about time for the Carbon Public Market to be renovated. It has been like this ever since I was still a small child and my parents sell here,” Aragon said in Cebuano.
Aragon expressed hope that having an improved Carbon Public Market would also translate to more opportunities for vendors like her.
“As long as they [developers] keep their promise that we won’t lose our livelihood and we will be prioritized, we’ll support the project,” Aragon added. / dcb