LGUs advised: No letup on road clearing

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has warned local government units to sustain the gains in the two-month road clearing program or face sanctions if the situation reverts back to the old ways.

DILG spokesperson Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said the road clearing operations would now be a continuous government program with a quarterly validation to monitor compliance.

“So, our advice to all LGUs is not to let their guard down, maintain and sustain what they have accomplished, continue with their road clearing operations, otherwise they will join the 97 LGUs that have been issued show cause orders by Secretary (Eduardo) Año,” Malaya said in a statement.

Last week, the DILG announced that 97 mayors might face suspension and administrative charges over their poor performance in clearing their roads and sidewalks from obstructions. The regions that had the most number of non-compliant LGUs were Regions 9, 10 and 7 with at least 43 nonperforming LGUs.

They were issued show cause orders and required to answer why they should not be charged before the Office of the Ombudsman for failing to comply with a DILG directive.

Even given this, the administration described the program as a success citing over 6,800 roads (75 percent of total roads in the country) that were cleared.

In Metro Manila alone, all LGUs were able to comply with the memo based on President Duterte’s directive during his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) to reclaim public roads from private use.

Malaya said the President was “very satisfied” with the success of the program that garnered applause during the Cabinet meeting.

“The President congratulated the DILG and all LGUs who actively participated in the road clearing operations and directed Secretary Año to continue with the program until the end of his term,” he added.

The DILG is partnering with other agencies to help clear roads and sidewalks from obstructions.