It was the delay in the reconstruction of the Unit 2 of Carbon market that pushed a vendor to run for councilman of Barangay Ermita.
Luckily, Erwin Gok-ong Sr., president of the Cebu Market Vendors Cooperative, won as number one councilman of the barangay even if he ran as an independent candidate in the recent barangay and SK elections.
“I would like to help my fellow vendors at the Carbon market by urging the barangay and the city government to realize the reconstruction of the Unit 2 of the market,” he said.
Gok-ong questioned why the implementation of the project was delayed even after City Hall already cleared the area of squatters last September.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña plans to build a P35-million ramp from F. Escaño St. up to F. Gonzales St. so motorists can use it to go through M.C. Briones and clear Quezon Blvd. of vehicular traffic.
Gok-ong said that while the city government plans to build the ramp first, they are hoping that the reconstruction of the burnt market building will still push through to the benefit of many vendors.
Gok-ong is a resident of barangay Mambaling but is a registered voter of barangay Ermita. He said he transferred his voter’s registration there because he spends more time in Carbon market than in Mambaling. He has been a vendor in Carbon since 1982.
“I live in Mambaling but I vote in Ermita. I improved and succeeded here. I ran as councilman to serve the barangay council and I would like to thank the people of Ermita by giving back to them what I have achieved,” he told The Freeman.
Gok-ong said that his being not a resident of Ermita was raised as an issue against him during the campaign period but he said he was honest about his intentions. His family was also against him running for office.
Further, he said his being a president of CEMVEDCO, which he also founded several years ago, helped him win the elections.
CEMVEDCO has around 600 members who are voters in Ermita. But he said that only 35 percent of them actually voted during the recent elections.
Aside from pushing for the reconstruction of Unit 2, Gok-ong said he also wants to focus on the services for the children and youth.
If given the chance, he said he wants to handle gender and development, health and sanitation and peace and order committees.
To give more time to his work as a servant of the barangay, he said he even closed his store near City Hall even if it means a big loss in income. — Wenna A. Berondo/BRP