FIVE out of 22 barangays in Talisay City have started road clearing operations in compliance with the directive of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
These barangays are Tangke, Lawaan 3, Pooc, Tabunok and Poblacion, said Talisay Traffic Operation Development Authority (CT-Toda) chief Jonathan Tumulak.
Tumulak said the five barangays launched their respective road clearing operations after DILG Talisay City officer Liza Fernandez met with the city’s 22 village chiefs last week.
Aside from clearing roads of obstructions in their barangays, village officials were also told to keep trisikads and tricycles out of the national highway.
Tumulak told barangay officials the City Government would help them implement this mandate.
The CT-Toda has deputized one village chief, four barangay councilmen and at least 80 tanods to help ensure road discipline.
“CT-Toda’s role would be to support our barangay officials when they have a scheduled clearing operation. What’s advantageous about this is that we now have deputized agents consisting of barangay officials and personnel. This means they can issue citation tickets to constituents who violate traffic rules or cause road obstruction,” Tumulak said.
Tumulak met Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, with representatives of tricycle and trisikad associations whose units pass through N. Bacalso Ave. from Barangays Linao to Bulacao and vice versa.
Among the matters discussed were the DILG’s directive and recommendations for drivers who will be affected.
Tumulak said all barangay captains will submit their initial report to the DILG on Feb. 10.
Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr., for his part, advised village chiefs to coordinate and work with the CT-Toda.
“What they should do is for the barangays to coordinate with our CT-Toda and anti-vending team. That was one of the things that we did (during City-initiated clearing ops) and I think that was what made us pass. The City will support the barangays,” Gullas said in a mix of English and Cebuano.
Talisay received a “medium compliance” rating from the DILG in October 2019.
Local government units that received a “medium compliance” rating got scores of between 81 and 90 percent.
Gullas said the City Government is conducting regular monitoring and validation to ensure that Talisay’s roads remain free of any obstruction. (FMD, RTF)