STALL VENDORS at the Colon Night Market in Cebu City can continue to sell their goods amid talks of temporarily suspending the activity due to technicalities.
Mayor Nestor Archival said on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, that there are no compelling reasons for him to temporarily suspend the Colon Night Market’s operation.
This was in response to the call of Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr., who sought a legal review and the temporary suspension of the nightly bazaar because it does not have the approval from the City’s Garbo Asenso Sumbanan Alyansa (Gasa) sa Gugma Board.
Archival, moreover, revealed the previous Gasa sa Gugma Board failed to remit millions of pesos in collection from vendors during the operation of the night market in previous years.
Under City Ordinance (CO) 2386, Gasa sa Gugma is the City Government’s governing body in relation to peddling and street vending.
Archival added that he is still on the lookout for qualified individuals that will form part of his initiative to convene the board.
Alcover, in the council’s regular session last Tuesday, Sept. 23, again asked the Office of the Mayor to immediately convene the board following the start of the Colon Night Market operation in the first week of September.
The Gasa sa Gugma Board is composed of the mayor or their designated representative as chairman; the executive director appointed by the mayor; and the head of the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (Probe) team or their authorized representative, the chairman of the City Council’s committee on markets, the head of the Office of the City Markets, the head of the City Traffic Operations and Management, the head of the City Health Department and the head of the City Anti-Mendicancy Office as members.
Representatives from the Cebu Environmental Sanitation and Enforcement Team and the Department of the Interior and Local Government were recently added through an amendment to CO 2386.
Legality and questions
Alcover, on Tuesday, urged the Office of the Mayor to temporarily suspend the night market’s operations until all legal requirements, proper permits and clearances from both the City Council and the Gasa sa Gugma Board are secured.
Alcover said this raises serious questions on legality, accountability and compliance with existing ordinances, particularly the “Gasa sa Gugma Ordinance” that governs informal trade.
He also asked the City Legal Office to render an official opinion on the legality of the market’s operation, the extent of Archival’s authority in verbally ordering city offices and private associations to implement the project and the possible liabilities of the agencies and groups involved.
Testimonies during the executive session revealed that the Colon Night Market was organized largely through a verbal directive from Archival.
The mayor reportedly instructed the Office of the Muslim Affairs and Indigenous Cultural Communities and the Participative Association of Sugbo Vendors Inc. to assist in its implementation.
He argued that continuing the market under its current setup would set a “dangerous precedent” by allowing major commercial activities to operate outside the boundaries of law and proper procedure.
Alcover is the current chairman of the committee on markets.
Mayor’s authority
Archival, on Sunday, responded that the Office of the Mayor has the authority to issue a special permit allowing the operation of the Colon Night Market.
“These are temporary permits because these are short-term operations,” said Archival in a phone interview.
“Nganong pugson mana og convene (ang Gasa) nga ako pa man na i-convene (Why force the convening of Gasa when I am the one who still needs to convene it)?” he added.
He explained that the vendors have already paid their dues to the City Government and it will be unfair for the City to impose a temporary suspension due to the alleged lack of authority from the Gasa sa Gugma Board.
He added that there is no question of the mayor’s office overriding the authority of the Gasa sa Gugma Board as it has not yet been convened.
He also raised questions about the previous Gasa sa Gugma board that failed to remit the collection to City Hall. This was in conformity with Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s request to look into the revenue of the previous board that allegedly was not remitted back to the City Government.
Archival said he has yet to identify the individuals involved in the non-remittance. He urged the City Council to focus on this initiative. / EHP