Cebu vendors flag concerns on Carbon market ‘privatization’ 

Vendors at Carbon Public Market are pushing back against the planned takeover of the market’s redevelopment and operations by Megawide Construction Corporation and its subsidiary Cebu2World Development Inc., warning that the move could drive up rent costs tenfold and threaten their livelihoods.

In an exclusive interview with Explained PH on February 14, one vendor shared that they were informed about a significant increase in rental costs if they transfer to the new facility.

“Ilang [giingon] namo nga amo abang na diri (Carbon Market) kay P6,000 na taga buwan, kay ipabalhin mi didto P60,000 na,” they said.

(They told us that our rent here (Carbon Market) is P6,000 per month, but they want to transfer us there for P60,000.)

They  added that many were alarmed by the increase, saying it was too high and that they were unsure how they could afford  it while already struggling with electricity, transportation, and other operational costs.

Even the current monthly rent of P6,000, according to them, is already difficult to sustain. 

“Di gyod mi [mosugot] ato kay maglisod mi, galisod man gani mi ari nga P6,000 ra,” they added.

(We definitely can’t do that because we would really struggle. We’re already having a hard time paying P6,000 here.)

The private firms are set to begin collecting fees from the Carbon Public Market vendors on Mar. 1, 2026.

On the Mayor’s side

With this, vendors appealed to Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival to halt the collection and allow them to remain under the existing setup. .

“Manawagan kos mayor nga ibalik lang ta mi ari. Dili lang mi [moadto] didto nga sobrang ka mahal kay maglisod mi, dili nami kaabot sa minimum nga bayad,” they said.

(I would ask the mayor to just let us stay here. We don’t want to move there because it’s way too expensive and we would really struggle, we wouldn’t even be able to meet the minimum payments.)

“Kung mao na ilang pangayoon, amo lang nga natural lang ang among bayranan kada buwan, okay ra na namo. Kay kung mao man to, maglisod mi ana, asa man na namo kuhaon? Kung magmahal ang buwak, samot ta’g ka lisod ana,” they added.

(If that’s what they insist on, we’d rather just pay the natural, regular rent each month, that’s fine for us. Otherwise, if the rent is so high, it would be very difficult for us to manage.)

Archival earlier assured more than 4,000 vendors that the city government would continue collecting fees for now, as the private firms have yet to complete their legal requirements.

“I am telling you now that I will not agree to them collecting from you, but we (the City government) will still continue to collect,” Archival said.

Redevelopment deal

Megawide   signed a joint venture agreement with the Cebu City government in 2021 to redevelop the Carbon market for P5.5 billion . Project costs have since increased to P8 billion.

The Cebu City council is set to  revisit the  agreement on Mar. 17, noting that most of the current council members were not among those who originally approved the deal.

Vendors are calling on city officials to ensure that any redevelopment plan safeguards small traders and keeps the market accessible to ordinary consumers.