Megawide admits no comprehensive plan yet for Sitio Bato in Carbon JVA

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The developer behind the Carbon Public Market modernization project has admitted before the Cebu City Council that it has yet to prepare the comprehensive plan required under the Supplemental Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) to protect residents of Sitio Bato.

The admission surfaced during a June 1 inquiry that the City Council’s Committee on Housing conducted. It examined housing and relocation provisions under the Carbon Market redevelopment agreement, particularly those affecting Sitio Bato in Barangay Ermita.

During the hearing, Jynx Chanjuenco, Corporate Affairs and Marketing Manager of Cebu2World Development Inc., the Megawide-led consortium implementing the redevelopment, acknowledged that the document mandated by the Supplemental JVA still does not exist.

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“As we speak, there is no comprehensive plan just yet,” Chanjuenco told council members.

Committee Chairman Councilor Mikel Rama highlighted what the committee described as conflicting provisions between the original JVA and the Supplemental JVA.

The original agreement directs the Cebu City Government to clear and relocate illegal settlers or occupants of Sitio Bato at its own initiative and expense.

However, the Supplemental JVA replaced that approach with a different obligation.

READ MORE: Archival: City, not developer, oversees Carbon Market

Instead of immediate clearing, the supplemental agreement requires both parties to “devise a comprehensive plan in protecting and respecting the concerns of the actual occupants of Sitio Bato” and states that any development in the community should occur only during the last phase of the entire Carbon redevelopment.

No authority to evict

City Legal Office representative lawyer Ronald Anthony Librando told the committee that under statutory construction, the newer contractual provision prevails over the earlier one.

Applying that principle, Librando said that the requirement to prepare a protective comprehensive plan supersedes the original relocation provision.

Chanjuenco also stressed that Megawide holds no legal authority to remove Sitio Bato residents.

“There is no forced eviction authority granted at all to Cebu2World Development or Megawide. Walay authority si Megawide to clear or any authority to demolish (Megawide has no authority to clear the area or carry out any demolition),” he said.

Seeking a housing solution up to the City

He maintained that relocation and housing decisions remain solely within the authority of the Cebu City Government.

Chanjuenco added that the company would implement whichever housing solution the city ultimately adopts.

“If the comprehensive plan leads to the development of a medium-rise building for socialized housing, Megawide is very much willing to construct or undertake that project,” he said.

The inquiry also revealed that the Project Oversight Committee (POC), created under the JVA to oversee implementation of the redevelopment, has yet to convene this year.

Oversight committee has yet to meet

Responding to questions from Councilor Francis Esparis, Chanjuenco confirmed that the seven-member committee consists of four representatives from Megawide and three city officials—the City Administrator, City Treasurer, and City Legal Officer.

However, he acknowledged that the body has not met yet this year, effectively delaying formal discussions on the comprehensive plan and other implementation concerns.

The committee identified the inactive POC as one of the factors preventing progress on issues involving Sitio Bato.

Aside from housing concerns, the committee also tackled questions surrounding the legal status of Sitio Bato.

Council probes legal issues

Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña argued that portions of Sitio Bato consist of accreted or reclaimed areas that have yet to undergo legal conversion into alienable land.

Citing constitutional principles and Supreme Court jurisprudence, Osmeña argued that the area cannot legally become part of a commercial joint venture without a presidential proclamation.

The City Legal Office likewise confirmed that Sitio Bato has not yet been classified as alienable and disposable land and does not form part of the cadastral map.

Officials from the City Planning and Development Office also confirmed that the area lies within reclaimed land.

Flood zone issue clarified

Lawyer Edmund Lao, counsel for the Sitio Bato homeowners association BECANAI, countered that the city had already declared the community a socialized housing site under City Ordinance No. 1866. That gave residents protection under Republic Act No. 7279, or the Urban Development and Housing Act.

Residents also raised concerns over Sitio Bato’s classification as a Flood Overlay Zone, fearing it could pave the way for demolition.

City Planning officials clarified that the designation serves only as a disaster risk overlay and does not remove the area’s housing classification.

During the hearing, BECANAI President and Barangay Ermita Councilor Vivian Ando also relayed persistent rumors within the community that the redevelopment was intended to replace Sitio Bato with a casino.

Casino rumors denied

Chanjuenco dismissed the claim.

“Impossible ang kanang casino. Walay any business si Megawide regarding gambling and casinos (A casino is impossible. Megawide has no business involving gambling or casinos),” he said, adding that nearby churches and schools would also prohibit such development.

Following the inquiry, the Committee on Housing recommended several actions to address unresolved issues surrounding the redevelopment.

Comparing the agreements

Among them, the committee asked the City Legal Office to submit a formal written opinion reconciling the conflicting provisions of the original and supplemental agreements, clarify the legal status of Sitio Bato, and explain distinctions between a public and private market.

It also requested the City Planning and Development Office to submit a report on the area’s zoning and legal classification, urged the Office of the Mayor to declare its preferred housing model for Sitio Bato, and called on the Project Oversight Committee to convene immediately and begin drafting the comprehensive plan required under the Supplemental JVA.

The committee report will guide the Cebu City Council as it continues its review of the Carbon Market Joint Venture Agreement and its impact on residents, vendors, and the broader redevelopment of the city’s oldest public market.

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