Carbon Market

The name of the Carbon Market came from the word carbón, Spanish for coal, since the area was said to be close to a coal depot used for the steam-powered ships and trains of the old Cebu Railway that ran in Cebu from the 19th century up until World War II. ==History==

Little is known as to when commercial activities in Carbon started. However, the district around Carbon, called Lutao ("float" in English), which also includes the Ermita barangay, is right by the coast and close to the port of Cebu. It is said that trade was already present during the Spanish occupation of Cebu, and Carbon Market predates the American occupation of the Philippines. Like much of Cebu and the Philippines, Carbon sustained heavy damages from World War II. But as the city and the country rebuilt and grew, so did the market. On May 13, 1964, then-Philippine president Diosdado Macapagal, by the virtue of the Presidential Proclamation 241, formally donated the plot of land on which Carbon stood to the local government of Cebu City, which, until then, was formally owned by the national government. In the 1990s, there were plans to phase out the Carbon Market leading to the formation of cooperatives by vendors. In 2000, some vendors created a cooperative to sell their wares, and later two other cooperatives were formed by different units of the market. In 2007, governmental delays in rebuilding of the market caused a political controversy, leading one vendor to run for city council from the barangay of Ermita, winning on that single-issue platform. As of September 2009, the Cebu City government opened up land for private development of a newer market, called the Bagsakan Center. The goal was to increase competition and lower prices for consumers at both markets. In the late 2010s, there was a proposal by retail firm SM Prime to redevelop the Carbon Market. In 2020, Filipino conglomerate Megawide Construction Corporation entered into a 50-year agreement with the local government of Cebu City that will see the redevelopment of the market to include other lifestyle and mixed-use developments within the market, as well as a transport hub which includes a water taxi that will connect to Mactan–Cebu International Airport. As of 2025, Megawide is investing ₱1.1 billion for “Block-2” of the Carbon Public Market redevelopment, to become a mixed-use vertical structure housing food, handicrafts, etc. Completion expected by Q1 2026. ==Facilities==

Units The market is housed in three structures namely Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3, along the M.C. Briones St. in Barangay Ermita: reopened in 2022 as an interim (temporary) market. • Unit 3 – Fruits area. Second floor razed by fire in 2018. Others • Freedom Park – named as Plaza Washington during the American era and Plaza Recoletos in the Spanish colonial era, it was eventually renamed by then-Cebu governor Sergio Osmeña Jr. in 1951 to its current name. The name reflects it as a place where Cebuanos could freely exercise their freedoms and was the site of religious gatherings, and debates, among other activities. The plot of land was originally owned by the Order of Augustinian Recollects (which run the University of San Jose–Recoletos across Freedom Park) to the Cebu City government, under the condition "that it be made as a park where people can exercise their constitutional right to free speech and to remain as such". In the 1960s it was gradually integrated into the market, starting out with a few stalls, until the original park eventually vanished. Since the 1960s until the 2020s redevelopment, Freedom Park was known for its flower shops. With the redevelopment, the flower shops and other stalls in Freedom Park were demolished and repurposed back to its original intended use as a public park, along with a 15-meter tall obelisk as a new symbol for the park. • Warwick Barracks – located behind the Freedom Park, it was originally the called the "Post of Cebu", set up by the Americans in 1899 during their occupation of Cebu. until 2022 Carbon Redevelopment Masterplan The Carbon Redevelopment project includes the restoration of The Freedom Park (formerly Plaza Washington/ Plaza Recoletos), beautification of Senior Citizens' Park, construction of parking infrastructures, making the 3 buildings with public market. The latter (Carbon Market Buildings) houses public market vendors in the upper and lower grounds and commercial spaces for the higher floors. The first of the three buildings is expected to be done by December 2026. It is the duty of the Cebu City Government through the Office of the City Markets to decide and finalize the list of regular and ambulant vendors who will occupy the public market stalls. On rates, only the Cebu City Government can set the rates for the public market vendors (listed by the Office of the City Markets) as provided by the Market Code. Meanwhile, Cebu2World may determine rates for the commercial areas meant for entrepreneurs who are not part of the list provided by the city government. At present, the city government collects from the public market vendors while Cebu2World collects from the commercial tenants only. ==References==