In defense of Carbon - Part 3

Carbon is not just a heritage site for the Cebuanos but for the Bisayas of Visayas and Mindanao. Carbon market is owned by the people and they deserve to know the truth. This is what is not being explained to the true owners of Carbon; the public. The public market is being leased, couched in the term “joint venture” for a period of 50 years, in the amount of P5.5 billion. The lease does not state the specifics of what the amount is for, is it only for the lease or the amount of the project? When will the amount be given to the city government? It is therefore imperative for the Cebu City Council to recall the authorization bestowed to the mayor regarding the project for it to reexamine.

There must be sobriety in the deliberation of the abrogation of the Carbon Market in the hands of an entity foreign to Cebu. The Cebuanos must be reminded that the mayor and the City Council are elected to serve only for a period of three years. Thus it could not arrogate upon themselves alone, unilaterally of incarcerating Carbon for 50 years. To be shackled under the warden of an entity foreign to Cebu. Even the Constitution only allows the government to issue franchises to business entities for only 25 years yet in Cebu City, the latter would abandon its sacred duty of being a steward of its century-old public market.

The privatization of Carbon is the prostitution of the market. It would tantamount to pimping one's family member to be abused, all justified in the name of income and deceptive term “modernization”. The Cebuanos are being disenfranchised on deciding the future of a heritage site to elected and appointed public officials who may not be alive during the 50-year period leasehold.

The Carbon Market was donated to the city by the national government on May 13, 1964 and Freedom Park originally called Washington Plaza, the bastion of Cebuano free speech and political freedom, was owned by the Order of Augustinian Recollects (OAR) likewise donated to the city.

The allegations that conspirators for the desecration of Carbon Market have engaged PR firms to sanitize the odor of the evilness and vileness of the lease and compounded by reports that those vendors who are vocal in its opposition to the project are being harassed by city employees must be validated and investigated by the City Council.

The City Council in the performance of its sacred duty must hear the true voices of the vendors, consumers, and all the stakeholders of Carbon and not just the chosen, rehearsed, and recycled vendors and associations who are biased in favor of its privatization.

Long live the Cebuanos, the defenders of Carbon.