Vendors hope Carbon Market reverts to institutional status

The Association of Market Vendors is placing its hope in the new administration of Cebu City to revoke the commercial land-use status of Carbon Market and revert it back to institutional.

- Iris Hazel Mascardo Staff Member

This change was previously lobbied by then-councilor, now mayor-elect, Nestor Archival before the City Council, but the proposal was rejected.

Erwin Goc-ong, head of the Cebu Market Vendors Multipurpose Cooperative (CMVMC), said that for the past three years, Archival had been advocating for the stallholders and vendors against the privatization plan. He added, however, that despite efforts to lobby for the protection of their welfare, Archival was mostly outnumbered in council votes.

With Archival's win, Goc-ong said they are hoping for a “significant change” that may impact the landscape of Carbon. He further stated that once the new administration takes office this June, they will re-lobby for the revocation of the land-use status, as well as propose amendments to the new rates and the collection of fees currently handled by a third party.

“We just wait for the dust to settle and listen first to the policy direction of the new administration but we are very hopeful for a better Cebu particularly Carbon,” said Goc-ong.

On December 11, 2025, the Cebu City Council denied the revocation of the zoning classification of the city's public market and retained its commercial land-use status, despite opposition from Carbon Market vendors.