ILOILO City – Tomorrow, Sept. 29, is President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadline for local government units to reclaim public roads being used for private ends.
However, according to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Region 6, road clearing operations should be sustained to ensure no obstructions would make a return to public roads and sidewalks.
“It doesn’t mean tapos na ang road clearing after the deadline. This is a continuing responsibility of all the local officials down to the barangay level. Ito talaga ‘yung trabaho,” said Director Ariel Iglesia.
In fact, said Iglesia, the President’s road clearing order was just a reiteration of existing laws, rules and regulations that local government officials should have been enforcing.
“Kasi if iwanan ito ng mga local officials, ang tendency babalik itong mga na-clear natin. Ang mga sidewalk vendors, pag wala tayong monitoring, ang tendency magbagablik,” said Iglesia.
He also reminded local officials to prohibit illegal parking on public roads.
“We will form a team to validate the road clearing after the deadline. Members will be from the Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, civil society organizations, and DILG,” said Iglesia.
In a statement yesterday, DILG’s central office in Metro Manila announced its teams will be visiting local government units (LGUs) for an assessment of their compliance.
“Those who are found to be non-compliant will be issued show cause orders by (DILG) Secretary (Eduardo) Año before their names are submitted to the President,” according to the DILG.
The department earlier warned that local officials who fail to comply with the president’s directive would face sanctions ranging from a reprimand, suspension, to dismissal from the service.
DILG also reminded all city and municipal mayors that they have the power to discipline village chiefs who are negligent or uncooperative in the clearing efforts.
“Under the Local Government Code, you are the primary disciplining authority over your Punong Barangays, therefore, we urge you to utilize your powers – without fear or favor – whenever necessary and make them accountable for their performance,” the DILG said./PN
