Mayors who fail Duterte’s order to clear public roads charged

PAGADIAN CITY – Two municipal mayors in Zamboanga del Sur, two in Camiguin, and another in Misamis Oriental and one more in Davao Oriental were among 10 local chief executives facing administrative charges for their alleged failure to comply with President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to clear public roads of illegal obstructions.

Secretary Eduardo Año, of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), said they have filed the charges against the mayors with the Office of the Ombudsman after these local chief executives failed to satisfactorily answer the “show cause orders” he issued.

“This is just the first batch of cases to be filed (against those who failed to comply with Duterte’s order) and we will file the succeeding batches as soon as our lawyers have finished reviewing the validation reports and the corresponding answers by the mayors,” he said.

Año said that administrative cases for gross neglect of duty and grave misconduct were filed against the mayors of the Municipality of Baco, Oriental Mindoro; Municipality of Pili, Camarines Sur; Municipality of Ginatilan, Cebu;

Municipality of Pagsanghan, Samar; Municipality of Aurora and Lapuyan, Zamboanga Del Sur; Municipality Sagay and Guinsiliban, Camuigin; Municipality of Manticao, Misamis Oriental; and Municipality of Caraga, Davao Oriental.

He also urged the Office of the Ombudsman to immediately act on the cases to prove to the public that government is serious in returning all roads for the enjoyment and utilization of the public. “We hope that the Ombudsman will act on our complaint with dispatch and urgency,” Año said.

Año said that the filing of cases is long overdue as all local government units (LGUS) were given reasonable time to comply with Duterte’s directive to reclaim all public roads that are being used for private ends – but the said LCES showed negligence, dereliction of duty, and lack of cooperation.

“These first batch of mayors failed to perform their duty to clear their roads of obstructions, they did not develop or implement any displacement program or plan, they do not have any long-term rehabilitation and sustainability plan in place, and they failed to set up a feedback or grievance mechanism for their constituents; hence, we are compelled to seek their suspension from office,” he said.

“Hindi tayo nagbibiro noong sinabi natin na handa tayong sampahan sila ng kaso. We took, very seriously President Duterte’s order for the DILG to lead the road clearing efforts and file cases to non-compliant LGUS, if need be,” he added.

Año said these mayors facing charges have registered the lowest validation scores through the stringent nationwide evaluation and monitoring of the DILG.

“Hindi naman tayo nagkulang ng paalala sa mga pamahalaang lokal,” he said, adding, the DILG issued show cause orders last October to 97 LGUS across the country seeking their explanation for their non-compliance to the directive based on the assessment and validation conducted by the DILG.

DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said that they will soon issue another directive for a new 75-day road-clearing operation. “We noticed that some of the obstructions have returned and the LGUS have done nothing to stop their return especially during the holidays,” he said.

“We hope that all our mayors understand that this is now a policy of the government until the end of this administration. They will have to lead and do their responsibilities, otherwise they will face charges and the threat of suspension,” said Malaya.

“The challenge here is to sustain the gains of the road clearing last year for the long run so the Secretary

will soon issue a new directive to ensure that all encroachments are permanently removed and that LGUS are vigilant in enforcing the law,” he added. (Zamboanga Post)