METRO MAYORS, MMDA ORDER VILLAGE CHAIRS TO KEEP CLEARED ROADS OBSTRUCTION-FREE
After Metro Manila mayors reporte dt ha tt he national roads and Mabuhay Lanes in their areas wer en ow 100 percent free of obstructions as of Sept. 29, it was no w up to barangay officials to maintain the gains of the 60-day clearing operations.
Officials of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and several Metro mayor swe re also quick to i ssue a clarification on t hes idelines of the third Metro Mani la C ouncil (MMC) meeting on Thursday.
“When we say 100 percent, we do not mean that yo uw i llno longer see (obstructions an di llegally parked vehicles on the streets). But what we’re really afte ri s enforcement , wh ich means tha ti f there i s a car parke dt her e,[ the driver will be apprehended] unlike before when enforcers didn’ tr eally care,” MMDA general manager Jojo Garcia tol dr eporters.
Echoi ngh is sentiment, Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto said: “What we a re saying is that we have cleare do u r ro ads 100 percent bu tt his do esn ot mean that at any given time, it will be 100 percent . Bu tt his is where our long-term efforts to sustain our progress wi llc ome in.”
With the 60-day period to clea rt he road s un der Memorand um C ircular No. 2019-029 over, the Departmen to f the Interior and Local Government (DILG) wi ll n ow be assessing each city’s progress and actual accomplishment unti loc t. 5, according to Interior Undersecretary Epimaco Densing.
Garcia seemed confident that no mayor would be suspende dd espit em r . Du terte’s warning against local executives who faile dto comply with his order.
For now, it was up to barangay officials to sustain their efforts, said Parañaque Mayor Edwi nol ivarez.
“Once we leave it to t hem, it ’s n ow the responsibility of the barangay chairs because it’s their area… S oi f anyone should be held liable, we would probably go after [them],” Garcia added.
Caloocan Mayor Oscar Malapitan earlier filed administrative charges agains tt he chair o f Ba rangay 138 who faile d to remo vea tricycle terminal o na national road.
Of the 17 mayors in the metropolis, only Malapitan, Olivarez, Sotto, Makati Mayor Abby B inay and Navotas Mayor To by T iangco attende dt he MMC meeting.
Quezo nc ity Mayor Joy Belmont ean d Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso ,wh ose heavily populated cities wer ec onsidere dt he m ost challenging to clear ,we r en o-shows.