CEBU City Councilor Joel Garganera has urged the Office of the Mayor to immediately convene and appoint members of the Project Oversight Committee (POC) for the Carbon Market Redevelopment Project.
Under the 2021 Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the Cebu City Government and Megawide Construction Corp., the POC is tasked with monitoring project compliance and addressing vendors’ concerns.
Garganera also called for an immediate joint, on-site ocular inspection involving leaders of various vendor associations and Cebu2World Development Inc. (C2W) to validate the master list of ambulant vendors, eliminate discrepancies and ensure that the city’s large vendor population is not displaced during the redevelopment.
C2W, a subsidiary of Megawide, is the primary entity implementing the modernization of the Carbon Public Market in three phases: Units 1 and 2 and Compaña Maritima (Phase 1), Freedom Park (Phase 2) and Sitio Bato and Unit 3 (Phase 3).
In two proposed resolutions for the City Council’s regular session on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, Garganera said once the POC is formed, it must promptly address vendors’ concerns. The committee will also serve as a formal mechanism to ensure transparency and accountability.
On the proposed joint inspection, Garganera said it would provide accurate, on-the-ground data on the actual number of vendors in Carbon, which vendor group Carbon-hanong Alyansa estimates at around 6,000.
During an executive session on March 17, vendors raised concerns over relocation procedures, the master list of regular and ambulant vendors and their participation in the redevelopment process.
Oversight committee
Under Section 4.1 of the JVA, the POC will have seven members — four nominated by Megawide and three designated by the City Government, with appointments made annually.
The committee will serve as the principal body for regular communication between the parties regarding the project.
“The City has yet to submit a list of names to be endorsed as members of the Project Oversight Committee, as required under the JVA, which should be submitted at the start of every year to oversee compliance, address stakeholder concerns and ensure that the welfare of vendors is protected throughout the redevelopment process,” Garganera told SunStar Cebu.
Earlier on Feb. 12, the POC issue was raised by Mayor Nestor Archival when he blocked a plan that would have allowed the private developer to start collecting fees from vendors.
Archival said that without the POC, C2W’s proposal to collect fees could not proceed.
This was echoed by Jynx Chanjueco, C2W’s marketing and corporate affairs manager, who said no rate changes would be implemented without close coordination with the City Government. / EHP