Osmeña orders start of P135M Carbon market ramp project
Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday denied the appeal of the affected vendors to postpone the construction of the P153 million Carbon market ramp until the time their relocation site is cleared to make their stalls there still visible to the buying public.
The city could not delay further the project, said Osmeña who ordered WT Construction, the project contractor, to start construction works now. “We must go. This is too much already. This has already become an implementation of talking. Enough of talking,” he said.
The mayor explained to reporters, during his press conference, that the project could not be delayed any further because the price of its construction has been going up. The project was budgeted long time ago and the city has to make adjustment with the cost because of the delay in the implementation, he said.
“So everybody must move, that’s it. I think delaying the project by few years is more than reasonable. I don’t have much time already,” he said.
Maria Pino-Buanghog, chairperson of Cebu City United Vendors Association, said they have not been opposed to the project, and all they wanted was to be given a relocation site that is conducive to the vendors’ livelihood.
The vendors were at the City Hall yesterday to bring their appeal to the mayor, then went out in tears after learning that Osmeña had already rejected their plea for postponement and already gave the go signal for the project construction. Buanghog said close to 1,000 vendors would be affected by the construction of the ramp.
City Market administrator Racquel Arce earlier said that the legitimate vendors numbered about 100 only. They formerly occupied the razed building in Unit II, while there are around 400 to 500 ambulant vendors doing their trade along
With the order to start construction already given, Arce said the city had to ask the affected vendors to vacate the place and moved to the relocation site provided for them. They will be temporarily relocated to a lot that was vacated by Young Builders Inc, said Arce, adding that the area will be cleared for the vendors. —Wenna A. Berondo
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