Court Denies Vendors Plea to Stop Taboan Stall Demolition

The Cebu City clearing team will pursue within this week the demolition of the eight modules of the Taboan Public Market after the court denied the request of the vendors to stop the City Hall from destroying their stalls.

Market Administrator Raquel Arce said the demolition of the eight modules, three of them are occupied by Maritess Mercado and five others are being used by Barangay San Nicolas-Proper Captain Abraham Desamparado, was supposed to be done several weeks ago’ but Mercado and Desamparado had sought the court’s help.

Arce said Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Raphael Yrastorza denied the petition of the two vendors seeking for the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), meaning the city can already pursue the demolition.

Of all modules or stalls in Taboan market, only the ones occupied by Mercado and Desamparado had been not renovated yet because they refused to abandon for fear that Arce will not give them the same number of stall.

The city had allocated P25 million for the renovation of the Taboan Public Market to include the reconstruction of the modules around the market, re-roofing and fencing the market marking building.