REPRESENTATIVES of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) will be going around the Metro Cebu cities today to check if the roads and sidewalks have indeed been cleared of obstructions.
The 60 days imposed on them by President Rodrigo Duterte to show significant changes in road and sidewalk ease of passage lapsed Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019. Today, Monday, is inspection day.
Mayors Edgardo Labella of Cebu City and Jonas Cortes of Mandaue City are ready to show the roads and sidewalks in their areas already cleared of obstructions.
Talisay City has focused on Tabunok, the major traffic bottleneck it being the center of commerce and gateway to southern Cebu.
The sidewalk and ambulant vendors have been organized and their presence managed. Some have been relocated.
Illegal roadside parking has been dealt with by clamping four-wheeled vehicles and forcibly removing motorcycles, and fines have been imposed.
DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing will lead the inspection of the major city roads in Central Visayas.
DILG 7 assistant regional director Maria Lucino said the final validation will be held on Oct. 4, and a report submitted to the Bureau of Local Government Supervision on Oct. 5.
CEBU CITY
Last Saturday, Sept. 28, about 380 qualified vendors who used to display their products on Colon Street and Osmeña Blvd. were moved to the Tabo sa Banay on Balintawak St. and to the Senior Citizen’s Park on D. Jakosalem St.
Mayor Labella expressed hopes that the DILG will understand that the City cannot just neglect “the poor people.”
He said “political will (should be) tempered with compassion and mercy.” “We understand that clearing of the street is an obligation of the City and the State, but we also have to acknowledge that the less privileged members of society will have to survive,” Labella said.
The City is still looking for areas where the remaining qualified vendors can be relocated.
At the relocation site provided for the qualified sidewalk vendors, the vendors are allowed to sell from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
MANDAUE CITY
DILG Mandaue city director Jhoaden Lucero described as “successful” the road and sidewalk clearing campaign during an initial inspection last Friday, Sept. 27.
Lucero said she understands that there are obstructions that need more time to pull out such as houses that have encroached on sidewalks, electric posts and cable lines, and protruding water pipes.
The clearing operations have been a collaboration among the Mandaue City Legal Office, Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) and City Housing and Urban Development Office (Hudo).
TALISAY CITY
By declaring a stretch of the Talisay City highway to be “discipline zone,” Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas was able to strictly carry out a clearing zone.
He focused on Poblacion Tabunok, the gateway to southern and northern Cebu, and had anything that obstructed passage of vehicles and people removed.
With the City of Talisay Traffic Operations Development Authority (CT-Toda) as the enforcing agency, Gullas succeeded in clearing the highway and secondary roads of illegal vendors, illegally parked vehicles and illegal structures.
CT-Toda chief Jonathan Tumulak had teams roving the city almost 24/7 to check for illegal parking.
DILG Talisay City Officer Liza Fernandez said that during an inspection last Sept. 24, she saw “big improvement” in the flow of traffic especially in the area around the Tabunok market. (JJL, KFD, FMD / MPS)