THE City Government of San Fernando has made a remarkable performance in the implementation and compliance with the clearing operations directive, according to a report released by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
This led for the city to garner a "high compliance" rating for Memorandum Circular 2019-121, which directs all local government units to clear local public roads of illegal obstructions.
Following a validation and actual inspection of the DILG in the last quarter of 2019, the report showed that San Fernando was able to comply with the following indicators: ordinance, inventory, road clearing, displacement, rehabilitation, and grievance mechanism.
These indicators cover a number of deliverables to be performed by a local government unit from the enactment of a City Council ordinance on road clearing and banning of road obstructions to the actual operations.
The city's accomplishments, performed through the joint leadership of the then City Public Order and Safety Coordinating Office (CPOSCO) Officer Raymond del Rosario and current officer Louie Clemente, include clearing operations in the city's major areas including Jose Abad Santos Avenue, MacArthur Highway, Lazatin Boulevard, and Poblacion.
The operations covered the following: illegal terminal fronting Home Depot and Holidayland Restaurant along Jose Abad antos Avenue; illegal structures; illegal obstructions fronting S&R Membership Shopping along Jose Abad Santos Avenue; illegal vending; illegal parking; illegal vulcanizing shops; illegal signages; illegal sidewalk obstructions; and other illegal road obstructions.
Apart from this, the CPOSCO has also been providing assistance to all the 35 barangays of the city in their respective clearing operations.
"Masaya tayo sa resulta ng validation at maliban sa isang verbal communication with the DILG, nagpadala din sila ng sulat kay Mayor Edwin Santiago to commend our efforts. The challenge for us now is to maintain or even surpass our efforts," said Clemente.
For his part, Santiago said the positive results should be credited not only to the City Government but also to the public who continuously support its initiatives.
"Lagi nating sinasabi na ang disiplina ay nagmumula sa ating mga sarili. Ang tanong ay kung paano tayo nakapag-comply sa direktiba ng DILG gayong malaking pagsubok ito para sa atin. Ang kasagutan ay ang suporta ng publiko sa ating mga inisyatiba, na naniniwala sila sa kakayahan natin at naniniwala silang may paraan sa lahat ng problema," said Santiago.
The CPOSCO also proudly shared its more than 14,000 recorded apprehensions of different violations made by motorists -- including public utility jeepneys, motorcycles, tricycles, heavy vehicles, and private vehicles -- during the same year.
Meanwhile, Clemente said the DILG is set to conduct another validation and inspection in the first quarter of 2020. (PR)