BACOLOD City – Starting next week, the city government will be freeing roads from obstructions once more.
According to Mayor Evelio Leonardia, the heads of 61 villages agreed to resume the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) “Road-Clearing Operation 2.0” on Nov. 16.
“Punong barangays must comply, otherwise they will face administrative sanctions from the DILG,” Leonardia stressed.
The road clearing operations, however, will be partially implemented since the metro is under general community quarantine (GCQ) for the entire November, said DILG-Bacolod director Ma. Joy Maredith Madayag. This was provided under DILG Memorandum Circular 2020-027, she noted.
“The continuation of the road clearing program is also part of our transition to the ‘new normal’ so we need to ensure that public roads do not have illegal obstructions and that they are kept safe from potential danger to citizens and the community,” Madayag said.
Madayag gave village chiefs a briefing on the directive yesterday. She was joined by Leonardia, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and City Legal Officer Joselito Bayatan.
She reiterated the role of the barangays and the reports they needed to accomplish as part of the compliance.
The full implementation will be done once Bacolod is placed under modified GCQ.
During the initial validation in October last year, following the 60-day road clearing operations, Bacolod got a compliance rating of 87 percent.
Figures released by the city government in January showed that some 11,517 illegal structures have been identified in all the barangays, of which 9,966 have been cleared.
The remaining 1,551 include private properties and areas occupied by residents seeking housing assistance./PN
