Road clearing order: 7 Cebu LGUs fail

CEBU, Philippines — Seven local government units in Cebu failed to comply with the order of President Rodrigo Duterte to clear their streets of obstructions.

These include Carcar City, Badian, Carmen, Compostela, Ginatilan, Moalboal, and Pinamungajan.

The towns of Antequera, Garcia Hernandez, Talibon, and Valencia in Bohol and the town of Larena in Siquijor also failed.

These LGUs in Region 7 are among the 97 LGUs nationwide that failed to comply with Duterte’s directive based on validation after the September 29, 2019 deadline. The list is indicated in the “LGU compliance assessment and validation ratings” issued by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The 97 LGUs will be made to explain why they failed to comply with the directive.

Non-compliant local executives face charges for dereliction of duty and negligence and could possibly be put on preventive suspension, which Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said he would recommend.

National compliance

In general, the DILG gave the LGUs an 80 percent passing rate with over 6,800 roads reclaimed nationwide.

Ano said he considers the endeavor, based on the President’s directive to reclaim public roads, as successful as over 75 percent of total roads under inventory were cleared.

“Compared to 60 days ago and now, maraming pagbabago. We have feedback from the people and community. Itong problema na to so many years napabayaan, nahirapan din ang LGUs and mayors natin,” Ano said in a press briefing yesterday.

Ano said that no LGU garnered a 100 percent compliance score.

The criteria for rating compliance include the passage of ordinances for road management, inventory and actual clearing of roads, and measures for displaced or affected vendors, among others.

Sustainability

While DILG will continue to monitor the situation, Undersecretary Martin Diño said the responsibility to sustain the clearing efforts is now in the hands of the mayor and the barangay officials.

He said DILG can file cases against the LGU officials who fail to do so.

“We will continue to observe and sustain, but at the same time, give these vendors the opportunity to earn a living,” Labella said yesterday.

Raquel Arce, the head of the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification, and Enhancement (PROBE) team in Cebu City, said the barangays that will have difficulty enforcing the policies can always ask for help from PROBE and the city government.

Arce and Atty. Ian Kenneth Lucero of DILG-7 also echoed the call of Diño for the public to help in the efforts by reporting violations and sending proof like photos and videos.

The DILG is set to issue a memorandum to institutionalize the clearing operations by mandating a quarterly review of cleared roads.

Cebu City vendors

Meanwhile, Cebu City got a high rating on the validation inspection and Mayor Edgardo Labella said the sidewalk vendors who have been displaced by the order deserve to be recognized.

Labella believes the city government’s effort in clearing its roads, particularly the major thoroughfares like Osmeña Boulevard and Colon Street, would not have been successful had the vendors not cooperated.

“Nagpasalamat ko sa DILG for the recognition, but this is just not mine alone… this recognition should be given to the people of the City of Cebu, to Raquel Arce, Jonil Matuguina, to Vice Mayor Mike Rama and to the others who helped us nya labi na gyod ang.mga vendors (I thank the DILG for the recognition but this is not mine alone… this recognition should be given to the people of the City of Cebu, to Raquel Arce, Jonil Matuguina, to Vice Mayor Mike Rama and to the others who helped us especially the vendors),” he added.

Labella told the vendors yesterday that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will give them P20,000 as additional capitalization. The money will be given to vendors registered in the city.

With regard to Vice Mayor Michael Rama’s plan to bring up the plight of the sidewalk vendors to President Rodrigo Duterte, Labella said he is not against it.

“That is his prerogative. That is also good… That is a welcome development,” he said.

But Labella said he has made it clear that “these vendors will not be dislocated. They will have a place to sell their wares.”

Arce said the vendors who were pulled out of Osmeña Boulevard and Colon Street were relocated to the Tabo sa Banay on P. Gullas Street downtown.

Labella himself said the city will not uproot the vendors from their locations unless the city has found a relocation site for them.

Labella said the city will also be implementing a livelihood program for the vendors affected by the clearing operation soon.

He said he has already discussed the matter with Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino.

“Ako na sad gi-tap ang expertise ni Kenneth Cobonpue sa ato unyang mga stalls (I have also tapped the expertise of Kenneth Cobonpue for the stalls),” Labella shared. Philippine Star News Service