Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama press conference at the Plaza Independencia on MArch 17, 2022.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama is asking the Carbon Market vendors to peacefully vacate their stalls in the Freedom Park and Warwick Barracks and transfer to the interim market.
This is to give way to the modernization project that the city government has a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with Megawide Construction Corp.
The Market Authority issued a notice to transfer to the vendors within three days on Tuesday, March 15, 2022, as Megawide is set to start the construction of the modern market.
Rama said he was aware that the vendors were resisting the three-day notice of the Market Authority to transfer the vendors from Freedom Park and Warwick Barracks to the interim market, but he said if it would fit the timeline, it must be done.
He said that the curative measures he had submitted to the City Council would be passed soon so there would be no reason to delay the timeline of the project unless a court order would be issued.
“Kay unless there is a court order stopping the Megawide project, that cannot be stopped. If we’re talking about whether it came from me, the notice, look into that there’d been an agreement between the city government and Megawide and such an agreement, if it is within the schedule then it must be followed. What’s the problem?” said the mayor.
Still, he explained that the order for the notice did not come from him, and he would look into it with due diligence.
Yet for now, he urged the vendors to follow the instruction of the Market Authority in the matter, because the city goverment could not actively delay the project or else it would constitute a breach of contract.
The mayor added that while he wanted a refinement of the JVA, he had never insinuated that the city government would rescind the contract in any way.
“Remember, I am not anti-development. We will never be into rescission. Never. Because mag-rescission Gani ta pirmi, mag-invalidation gani ta sa contract, unsay mahitabo? Wala nay investor manganhi nato, wala na and then maigo lang ta sa ginganlan natog what we call we do not know what is the motive,” said Rama.
(Remember, I am not anti-development. We will never be into rescission. Never. Because if we will have rescission all the time, there will be an invalidation of the contract, then what will happen? No investor will come here, they’ll not come here, and then we will be hit by what we call we don’t know what is the motive.)
The vendors recently asked Market Authority Head Racquel Arce to explain the three-day notice saying she had no authority to do so.
In at two-paged letter from the legal counsel of Carbonhanong Alyansa, the group representing the vendors, they claimed that Arce might be usurping authority over the issuance of such notice.
However, with the public statement of the mayor approving the transfer of the vendors and his direct order to vendors to vacate the stalls, Arce said she was only implementing the directives of the mayor and the city government.
After all, the move is part of the city’s obligation under the JVA contract.
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