By Chito Chavez
With the release of the validation results of the national road clearing program, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo M. Año asked the local government units (LGUs) with low compliance or failed ratings to improve their performance in clearing all public roads from all obstructions.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año (Philippine Information Agency / MANILA BULLETIN)
“Sustained operations are the key to success in the road-clearing operations. You need to exert more effort by eliciting the support of your punong barangays and your constituents. But everything begins with the political will of the mayor,” Año said.
Año added “there will be another validation in December and from now up to the end of the year, LGUs will have to conduct sustained operations to restore discipline in all public roads and streets.”
Latest data from the DILG-Bureau of Local Government Supervision revealed that as of October 16, 2019, of the 1,516 validated LGUs, 387 got a high compliance rating, 635 got medium compliance, and 393 got low compliance.
The report added that 101 LGUs received a failed rating and were issued show cause orders by the Department.
He specifically cited Taguig City, which despite its low compliance rating, is committed to implement its “mobility plan” to give residents and visitors quicker and safer travels beyond the 60-day deadline imposed by the DILG.
“Said plan is a holistic four-phase approach to ensure mobility, and went beyond the actual clearing of obstructions on major and secondary roads. It also includes road and sidewalk restoration and “beautification” as well as infrastructure projects,’’ he added.
“That is the kind of attitude that we want. This should be a challenge for LGUs to take the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) directive seriously because at the end of the day, we will all benefit from the law and order brought about by cleared roads,” he noted.
The DILG chief also advised Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia “to channel her energy into helping the seven Cebu LGUs to better comply with the Presidential directive rather than going on a tirade of complaints against the Department’s road clearing efforts and other programs’’.
One city and six towns under Cebu province got a failed rating in the initial assessment of the road clearing efforts of LGUs.
These are Carcar, Badian, Carmen, Compostela, Ginatilan, Moalboal and Pinamungahan.
“The DILG is your coach and as your coach, we want to prepare and guide you through the whole ball game, from day one up to the last. We want to see you succeed in governance and that is precisely the reason why we have field officers to make sure that you are on the right track,” he concluded.