Vico Sotto: How can we tell people to stop building obstructions when local gov’t did the same?

MANILA, Philippines — Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto on Thursday called out previous local government units for building structures on public roads.

On Thursday, Sotto and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chief Danny Lim and MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia oversaw the clearing operations along the Pasig-Pateros border in line with the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s directive to clear the roads within 60 days.

READ: DILG reverts to 60-day deadline for LGUs to clear public roads

The directive is also prompted by President Rodrigo Duterte’s pronouncement during his State of the Nation Address that he wants the mayors to clear public roads of obstructions.

Sotto said they cleared several city-built outposts in Pasig.

Due to this, Sotto lamented why the city government previously built structures on public roads.

"Pano natin sasabihan ang mga kababayan natin na wag silang magtatayo ng mga istruktura sa kalsada kung ang lokal na gobyerno mismo ang gumagawa nito?" Sotto asked.

(How can we tell our people not to build structures on public roads when the local government itself built them?)