Baguio has 'medium' compliance in road clearing ops

AN OFFICIAL of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) here said on Tuesday the city government got an 80 score in its compliance with the road clearing directive of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“Medium compliance yun. The failing grade is 75 points,” DILG Baguio officer Evelyn Trinidad said.

She said of the total 306 national, city, and barangay roads in the city, 154 roads have been declared as obstruction-free, or 50.32 percent compliance rate.

Based on the assessment and validation form for local government units, there are six indicators that determine local government units' (LGU) score: 50 points for road clearing, 15 points for rehabilitation, 15 points for the ordinance, 10 points for displacement, five points for grievance mechanism and five points for inventory.

Trinidad said the problem of Baguio is mostly on illegal parking and parking on roads, especially public utility vehicles which have established their loading and unloading areas on the road.

There are also some infrastructures, which have encroached on the road, and have yet to be removed, she said.

“Konti na lang ikiclear nila. Ang marami kasi sa atin dito illegal parking, not so much on obstruction na building especially dito sa CBD (central business district),” Trinidad said.

She said they will issue this an advisory to the villages for them to sustain and continue to remove illegal parking, which is rampant in the barangays.

Trinidad said they recommended to the city government to pursue and fasttrack its plan for a multi-level parking building at the CBD and north and southbound terminals.

Meanwhile, a report shows the four Cordillera LGUs which failed in the road clearing compliance are the towns of Boliney and Manabo in Abra province, Kabayan in Benguet and Banaue in Ifugao.

In the DILG website, Secretary Eduardo Año said the LGUs are given five days from receipt of the show cause order for them to explain their non-compliance to the Presidential directive.

For the LGUs' failure to explain their side, the DILG will have to submit their names to the President and file the necessary complaints with the Office of the Ombudsman.