Council probes missing fees in night market operations

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Council continues to dig deeper into the alleged irregularities involving the night market operations—this time, on its previous collections—where an executive session is being called to look into the operations of the former Colon Night Markets, specifically to determine why no special permit fees were collected by the City.

This comes after Councilor Paul Labra stood before the body and delivered his privilege speech to outline his take on the disputed operation of the night market that has been surfacing in recent days.

Labra then stressed that he looked into the matter to “seek the truth,” adding that questions have been raised regarding the current operation of the Colon Night Market.

The councilor recalled that its current operation has been called “illegal and disadvantageous to the city.” On the other hand, he added, Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival has asserted that the current setup is more advantageous due to the income it generates.

With these differing positions, Labra reiterated that this pushed him to look into the matter further in order to form a fair and informed view.

In line with this, Labra said that his office gathered data and secured relevant documents from the Cebu City Treasurer's Office (CTO).

“We requested and examined the records and performed a comparison of the operations of the Colon Night Market at present and in previous years,” said Labra.

Labra, who has just been elected to the council this year, clarified that his statements are based solely on the data and official records he has obtained.

As presented during his speech, Labra said that based on the documents obtained, collections from the Colon Night Market operations can be classified into two categories: one is arkabala or the daily vending fee, and the other is the special permit fee.

According to him, the special permit is paid per stall and by the organizer, which includes the organizer's fee and the organizer's business taxes.

He added that under the present administration, both the arkabala and the special permit fees are being collected.

However, Labra disclosed that in previous years, documents show that only the arkabala was collected and not the special permit fees.

“For further context, the CTO clarified that the arkabala figures from the previous years are not exclusive to the Colon Night Market, since the City's system does not segregate collections from different vending sites,” said Labra.

Labra further said that the special permit fees in 2025—which include payments for garbage collection, certification, other miscellaneous charges, the organizer's fee, and the organizer's business taxes—are now being collected under Mayor Archival's administration.

However, he added that records show these were not collected in previous years.

Based on the latest data, Labra said the City has already collected over P2,603,950 in special permit fees, covering approximately 600 stalls. He added that, at present, each vendor reportedly pays about P6,000 per month as rental fee.

“Interestingly, reports from vendors who operated in the previous Colon Night Markets shared that under the previous Colon Night Market operations, they also paid around P200 per day which, if we do the math, roughly equals the same P6,000 per month as rental fee,” said Labra.

This, Labra stressed, raised questions on their part as to why there hadn’t been any collection of special permit fees during the previous administrations if it was made possible under the present one.

“Ikaduha. Kinsa man gayud ang nagdumala ug nangolekta kaniadto sa night market?” Labra further probed.

“Ikatulo. Nganong nahikawan man ang syudad sa dakong kantidad nga angay unta niyang dawaton?” he further asked.

According to Labra, these were just some of the questions that need to be clarified, adding that this issue shouldn’t remain unresolved.

Through their own investigation, Labra revealed that the Colon Night Market was managed by the Alliance of Energetic Vendors (AEVAI) under Jayme Alcover Duran, and the GASA group headed by Jonel Matuguina.

Labra then said that it is only fair and responsible for the Council to seek clarity on the matter.

“Transparency is not an accusation. It is an obligation. It is our duty to the people of Cebu, whose trust we hold in public office,” said Labra.

In line with this, the council approved Labra’s call for an executive session inviting representatives from the City Treasurer's Office (CTO), the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO), and the previous night market organizers, including AEVAI, CMVA, IVEND, and GASA.

They also called on Mayor Archival to create and convene an ad hoc committee to investigate the operations of the previous Colon Night Market and determine the reasons behind the non-collection of special permit fees. — /LPM (FREEMAN)