ILOILO – All 1,721 barangays in the province were able to submit accomplishment reports on the road clearing operations in their respective areas.
Teodora Sumagaysay, provincial director of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), said majority of these villages submitted their reports on Dec. 16, 2020 with only a few failing to submit on time.
The validation teams, according to Sumagaysay, will start their assessment on Jan. 18 to 22.
Barangays flunking DILG-Iloilo’s assessment of their road clearing operations will be issued a memorandum, Sumagaysay said.
On Nov. 4, 2020, DILG-Iloilo issued Memorandum No. 2020-145 reminding the 43 local chief executives in the province to resume the 60-day road clearing operation beginning Nov. 16.
Sumagaysay said there is no excuse for mayors and barangay officials to not implement the road clearing since the entire province had been under modified general community quarantine since August.
Sumagaysay added that local government units (LGUs) were mandated to get rid the streets of any obstruction, such as vehicle terminals except in areas designated by the LGUs; vending sites; house encroachments that obstruct the right of way; debris, waste materials, and other junked items.
Exempted from being removed or apprehended are parked ambulances and public emergency vehicles; checkpoints established by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, LGUs, the police and the military; and temporary obstructions caused by the establishment of bike lanes.
Structures or obstructions erected for locally stranded individuals must also be removed upon their return to their intended LGU destinations.
Sumagaysay said LGUs must also ban motorized pedicabs and tricycles on national roads and highways notwithstanding the rules and guidelines set by the Department of Transportation on the operation of tricycles during the community quarantine period./PN
