EDITORIAL - Barangay accountability

To sustain the campaign to clear roads of obstructions in Metro Manila and other crowded cities, the Department of the Interior and Local Government wants mayors to hold barangay officials accountable. The DILG, on orders of President Duterte, had earlier warned that mayors who fail to comply with the road-clearing directive would be suspended.

The DILG must follow through on its warning, especially because among the top violators of laws and ordinances against obstructions in public places are barangay officials themselves. Apart from constructing offices on sidewalks, barangay officials set up tents and block busy streets for personal and partisan purposes. They allow their supporters to hold wakes and private parties right on the sidewalk, with chairs spilling out into the street.

Barangay officials are mandated by law to prevent squatting. Yet in many slums, barangay personnel themselves act as landlords, collecting rent and allowing informal settlers to build shanties even along waterways.

In the city of Manila, where Mayor Isko Moreno inspired the nationwide road-clearing campaign, barangay officials have been linked to the illegal collection of “rent” from sidewalk vendors and of excessive parking fees without receipts.

Across the country, barangay officials have also been linked to drug trafficking, with a number of them arrested or killed in the ongoing campaign against prohibited drugs. Aside from involvement in criminal activities, there are also barangay officials who should face charges for dereliction of duty, for refusing to assist women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

Barangays are the smallest units of government, and the officials and personnel are on the frontline of the delivery of basic services, including preventing squatting, keeping waterways clean and collecting garbage properly. They are on the public payroll and must be held accountable if they cannot do their job.