Carbon vendors fear displacement

Behind the Carbon Market vendors' vocal opposition to Cebu City's new zoning ordinance is a deep-seated fear of losing the livelihood that has sustained them for generations.

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Anna Marie Ariosa, head of the Carbon-hanong Alyansa Alang sa Reporma ug Bahandianong Ogma sa mga Nanginabuhi (C.A.R.B.O.N)—an umbrella group of various vendors' associations—voiced their growing anxiety over the ordinance's implications, particularly the reclassification of Carbon Market's land use from institutional to commercial.

In an interview yesterday, Ariosa said their aggressive call for the deferment of the Revised Comprehensive Cebu City Zoning Ordinance of 2025 stems from fears of being pushed out of a space they've long considered their own.

According to Ariosa, the commercial reclassification reduces vendors to mere tenants, a vulnerable status that weakens their hold as stakeholders.

She noted that the Cebu City Market Code has already been amended in line with the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the city government and private developer Megawide for Carbon's redevelopment. Since then, she claimed stall rental rates have increased, raising the possibility of smaller vendors being replaced by larger businesses.