Cebu City medium-compliant, not highly compliant in road clearing

CEBU, Philippines —  Cebu City was rated as “medium-compliant,” not highly compliant as reported earlier, in the 90-day nationwide operation to clear the streets of local government units.

This according to the validation report of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) barely two days after DILG Undersecretary Martin Diño, following inspection, said Cebu City got a high rating.

Mayor Edgardo Labella, however, said the city will do its best to meet the highest standards set by DILG.

“If there was a change of heart, then we’ll just act accordingly… We will continue until we shall have attained the high (rating),” Labella said.

Yesterday, Raquel Arce, the head of the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification, and Enhancement (PROBE) team of Cebu City, posted on social media photos of Colon Street, the oldest street in the city and the country, which is now clear of sidewalk vendors.

She said the challenge now is how to keep Colon Street, as well as other streets in the city, cleared of obstruction – something that now lies in the hands of barangay officials.

In Cebu, only the cities of Bogo and Naga, and the towns of Barili and Samboan were recognized as highly-compliant.

Seven other LGUs here got a failed rating, including Carcar City and the towns of Badian, Carmen, Compostela, Ginatilan, Moalboal, and Pinamungajan.

RATING

DILG used a four-tier rating system in evaluating the compliance of the LGUs.

In Cebu, only the City of Naga was reported to have "high compliance" or a rating between 91 to 100 percent.

The cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Talisay got a rating between 81 to 90 percent, equivalent to "medium compliance."

DILG assessed Lapu-Lapu City and Minglanilla, among others, as low compliant with a rating of between 71 to 80 percent.

Trovela said those who had "low compliance" ratings will be visited by DILG to explain their low scores.

For Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan, they were supposed to get a "medium compliance" if only they were able to submit their ordinances on towing and clamping of illegally parked vehicles.

He said they will furnish the DILG central office with the copies of the documents.

"But most important, pasar ta," he said.

Chan assured the city will continue to maintain their roads cleared with the hopes to get a higher compliance rating in the barangay level.

Meanwhile, other LGUs with satisfactory performance may improve their rankings following Año's announcement that a quarterly evaluation will be conducted to monitor the sustainability efforts of these units in clearing the roads.

Trovela thanked all the LGUs who took part in the implementation of the order and contributed to the efforts of the government to alleviate the traffic problem in Central Visayas.

He urged the public to report to their office those who will violate the President's mandate and ensure the long-term success of the clearing program.  JMO (FREEMAN)