‘Pasko sa Gugma, Paglaum sa Hustisya’ event in Carbon launched

Local

IN a bustling corner of Cebu City, the fight for justice takes center stage this Christmas.

For 20 years, vendors at the Carbon Public Market have celebrated “Carbon Pasko Na,” and this year, they made their message clear: the festivities go beyond holiday cheer and stand for fairness, rights, and dignity.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Dec. 12, organizers said the celebration carries the theme “Pasko sa Gugma, Paglaum sa Hustisya,” bringing together market vendors, associations and alliances, and representatives from the Office of the City Market.

Organizers said the event will highlight their opposition to privatization efforts, denounce corruption, and draw attention to the challenges facing the market community.

They said the event serves as a reminder of vendors’ resilience and their ability to overcome challenges, including typhoons that have tested the market in recent years.

Groups present at the press conference included CVCCO Multipurpose Cooperative, Cebu Market Vendors Multipurpose Cooperative, Carbon-hanong Alyansa, and the Cebu City United Vendors Association.

Additionally, smaller vendor groups will participate in a series of activities.

Jovelyn Gonzales, chairwoman of Carbon-hanong Alyansa, said this marks the first time their organization will lead the annual activity and confirmed they will continue to oppose the privatization of the market.

She said they oppose the project because turning the country’s oldest and largest public market over to private developers would threaten small vendors’ livelihoods, raise rental fees, and weaken the market’s role as a community-centered, affordable trading hub.

"Sa taas na katuigan mao na gyud ni siya ang kadangpan gyud sa mga mamalitay kung diin makita nimo ang barato nga pamaliton," she said.

In the past, Carbon-hanong Alyansa was formed as a coalition of market vendor groups in response to the Cebu City government’s plan to redevelop Carbon Public Market through a public-private partnership.

The group has staged protests, held public consultations, and filed legal challenges in previous years, calling for transparency in redevelopment contracts and insisting that any modernization program should prioritize the protection of small-scale vendors.

Gonzales said that based on 2023 data, Carbon Public Market hosts 5,798 vendors, with 3,900 ambulant vendors and the rest occupying stalls.

She said vendors play a central role in sustaining the market’s vibrancy and in upholding the rights and welfare of the broader community.

The group will open Carbon Pasko Na with a parade on Wednesday afternoon, featuring various vendor groups and associations, followed by a short program joined by City Hall officials, including City Administrator Engr. Albert Tan and Market Administrator Elconjim Concha.

Meanwhile, leading up to the Christmas celebration, they will hold a nightly Misa de Gallo at the Carbon Public Market, sponsored by the vendors’ groups and associations themselves.

The nightly Christmas mass will start on December 16 and will end on Christmas Eve.

Additionally, the group expressed hope that Cebu Archbishop Albert Uy, who is a known vocal voice on social issues, will celebrate one of the masses.(MyTVCebu)