DEPARTMENT of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año expressed satisfaction on Tuesday, September 3, over the progress of local government units in clearing roads, but admitted that “more needs to be done” in order to achieve the 100-percent cleared roads as ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte.
“We are pleased with the support, cooperation and compliance of Metro mayors to the presidential directive but we need to do more and we expect them to sustain their efforts in order to help clear the streets of Metro Manila of traffic,” Año said in a press conference.
During his State of the Nation Address on July 22, 2019, Duterte ordered local government units to reclaim public roads being used for private purposes in order to ease traffic congestion, particularly in Metro Manila.
The DILG subsequently gave the LGUs 60 days to clear the roads and reclaim those that are being used for private purposes.
Based on the latest compliance report submitted to the DILG’s Bureau of Local Government Supervision, all road clearing operations are proceeding smoothly in all 17 local government units in Metro Manila.
The report said that as of September 3, a total of 139,959 meters of roads and 52,831 meters of sidewalks in Metro Manila have been cleared of obstructions and illegal structures.
Año said the clearing operations resulted in the dismantling of 1,444 illegal vendors, 49 illegal terminals, 1,292 illegally parked vehicles and 813 other obstructions.
In other LGUs nationwide, 43.3 percent of government roads have reportedly been cleared.
DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said Metro Manila posted the highest compliance rate followed by Cagayan Valley with 77.5 percent of its LGUs complying, Central Luzon with 62.3 percent, Central Visayas with 58.3 percent, Calabarzon with 53.5 percent and Western Visayas with 52.6 percent.
Aside from conducting road clearing operations, the DILG also ordered the amendment or revisiting of local ordinances related to clearing all road blockings, an inventory of roads within their jurisdiction, development and implementation of displacement strategies, and rehabilitation of recovered public roads.
However, Año said maintaining and sustaining a clear road remain to be a challenge as there were instances, particularly in Metro Manila, that illegal occupants tend to go back to squatting after the operation.
“I prod all mayors nationwide to sustain the clearing of the roads for the benefit of the general public... The real test of the performance of the local chief executives lies in their consistency of maintaining the cleared roads beyond the September 29 deadline with the support of the police and the Barangays,” he said.
He also cited the best practices of some LGUs, particularly Marikina City and Valenzuela City, which both strengthened the implementation of the ordinances on road clearings as well as the coordination with the barangay officials.
Año reiterated his stern warning to local government executives that failure to comply with the order would mean sanctions ranging from reprimand, suspension, to dismissal from the service. (SunStar Philippines)