DILG to check compliance of LGUs on road clearing

CEBU, Philippines — As the 60-day ultimatum for road clearing ends yesterday, the Department of the Interior and Local Government will start to inspect the major city roads of the three highly urbanized cities in Cebu today.

Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III will lead the inspection in Cebu City, Mandaue City, and Lapu-Lapu City.

Lawyer Ian Kenneth Lucero, chief of the Local Government Monitoring and Evaluation Division of DILG- 7 and officer-in-charge of DILG-Cebu City, said the series of validation is set on September 30 to October 4.

DILG Secretary Eduardo Año ordered the creation of validation teams to check on the compliance of the Local Government Units in the implementation of the Memorandum Circular on road clearing.

The validation team is composed of representatives from DILG, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection, non-government organization, and media.

The duly accomplished and signed validation report will be submitted on or before October 5 to the office of Secretary Año thru the Bureau of Local Government Supervision.

Lucero said that in case of non-compliance, appropriate administrative cases shall be filed pursuant to the Local Government Code and other existing laws and policies.

DILG-7 director Leocadio Trovela yesterday clarified that they have not yet declared any LGU fully compliant with the presidential directive.

“As stated in the DILG MC-121-2019, being fully compliant is not just about conducting road clearing operations in primary and secondary roads,” Trovela said.

Based on the memorandum, for an LGU to be declared as fully compliant, they should also enact or revisit ordinances related to road clearing and banning of illegal construction, prepare an inventory of roads within their jurisdiction, develop and implement displacement strategies, and cause the rehabilitation of recovered public roads. (FREEMAN)