VENDORS of Carbon Public Market and officials of Barangay Ermita have asked the Cebu City Council to defer for one year the implementation of the newly approved Revised Comprehensive Cebu City Zoning Ordinance of 2025, citing a lack of consultation and possible adverse effects on local residents and their livelihoods.
In a letter addressed to the City Council, the group led by Daisy Jovelyn Gomez, chairperson of Carbonhanon, requested a one-year extension of the 90-day effectivity clause of the city ordinance.
The ordinance, which updates land use classifications across the city, is set to take effect 90 days after its publication. But Carbon vendors and Ermita officials said the measure was approved without proper consultation in their area.
The vendors said in their letter that the entire barangay had been reclassified from residential and socialized housing areas to commercial sub-zones without consultation, recommendation, or approval from the barangay and its residents.
Barangay Ermita earlier passed a resolution on Sept. 2, 2025, formally opposing the reclassification and asking that Sitio Ermita Proper remain residential and Sitio Bato retain its status as socialized housing.
Amendment
The Barangay Council urged City Councilors Harold Go and Mikel Rama to sponsor an amendment to the ordinance.
The barangay cited City Ordinance 1866, which had long classified Sitio Bato as a socialized housing zone, and said converting it into a low density commercial (C-1) zone under the new Comprehensive Land Use Plan violates due process.
“With the absence of informing the affected and concerned residents and officials of Barangay Ermita… the Revised Comprehensive Cebu City Zoning Ordinance 2025 is considered unlawful, with the absence of public hearing regarding the said changes,” the resolution stated.
In a consolidated statement attached to the request, Carbon’s ambulant and regular vendors said they were not given timely notice, access to detailed zoning maps, or sector-specific consultations before the passage of the ordinance.
They added that zoning shifts could disrupt small livelihoods operating on thin margins, possibly triggering new fees, penalties, and compliance requirements.
The group also noted the cultural and heritage importance of Carbon as Cebu’s historic public market, saying drastic land-use changes should be studied carefully.
The vendors proposed that Section 82 (effectivity clause) of the ordinance be amended to make it effective one year after publication, during which enforcement actions penalizing existing uses would be held in abeyance, except when necessary to address imminent health or safety risks.
They also urged City Hall to open a “data room” with accessible copies of zoning maps and shapefiles, set up a grievance desk for corrections, and conduct barangay-level consultations in Cebuano at times convenient for vendors. / CAV