Culture of discipline

Mayors have one month left in their 60-day deadline to clear sidewalks and roads of obstructions.

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno inspired the campaign, starting his cleanup of some of the most congested sidewalks and roads in this country.

While Manila provided the inspiration, however, the model for a sustained clearing operation isn’t his city.

Instead the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), which imposed the 60-day deadline, is considering Marikina as a template for expanding the campaign nationwide.

Marikina’s low-key mayor, the 49-year-old Marcelino Teodoro, says the DILG has asked the city government for its codified ordinances. Marikina’s sidewalk and road clearing operations were launched about two decades ago and – equally important – have been sustained. All over the city there are signs listing down the activities prohibited along sidewalks. In the latest campaign, Teodoro counts 376 kilometers of sidewalks fully cleared in just 17 days.

So Marikina is the first local government unit (LGU) in Metro Manila to comply with the deadline. And the city government wasn’t complying with any order, but continuing its own reform initiatives.

“Sixty days,” Teodoro says, “is a very long period (for compliance).”

*      *      *

Teodoro, who taught Philosophy at the University of the Philippines before he devoted his time to politics, is no epal and gives credit where it is due.

The reforms, he told us on Cignal TV/One News’ The Chiefs, were launched by his predecessor Bayani Fernando, who was mayor from 1992 to 2001. Marikina became a city in 1996.

Fernando, an engineer popularly called BF, was also a disciplinarian when he was mayor. Teodoro recalls that as an independent councilor, he was critical of some of mayor Fernando’s policies, which certain quarters considered draconian.

But Teodoro says he saw the logic in instilling discipline to make governance work. And when he became mayor for the first time in 2016, he continued the reforms implemented by BF, who became a congressman.

BF, for example, was way ahead in implementing anti-loitering ordinances in his city – what we call anti-tambay local laws. Teodoro says Marikina has been enforcing ordinances against going around half-naked in public, long before President Duterte assumed office. Proper attire, Teodoro says, is a sign of respect for oneself and other people.

Teodoro is proud to say that his city, apart from having its sidewalks free of vendors and obstructions a long time ago, is squatter-free.

How is this possible in congested Metro Manila?

*      *      *

Years ago, the Marikina government identified the long-time squatters and proceeded to move them out especially from the waterways.

Weeding out professional squatters, the local government demolished shanties and transferred some 20,000 squatters to 243 relocation sites within Marikina.

Under a tenureship program, the local government allocated some public lands or procured vacant lots from private owners. The sites were then subdivided and distributed to squatter families for free.

The local government provided housing loans as well as design and technical assistance to the squatter beneficiaries for the construction of their low-cost houses. No specific design was imposed, but each house had to have its own toilet and bathroom as well as electrical and water connections, and must not obstruct sidewalks or streets.

All relocation sites are close to public schools. There are livelihood assistance programs.

Teodoro noted that throughout Marikina, rules are enforced on easements from waterways, and even how far awnings can jut out of commercial and residential structures.

To ensure public cooperation and compliance, the Marikina government explains the reasons for its rules and laws. Teodoro said civic responsibility is now part of the curriculum in city-run schools, under a subject called Values, which is taught in Grades 4, 5 and 6. Even first graders, Teodoro said, are taught about the importance of protecting the environment.

“Order is social engineering, altering the comprehension of people,” he explained.

His next challenge is opening up certain subdivision roads to serve as alternate routes to ease traffic. Affected residents are being presented with the explanations for the move, Teodoro says, and are being reassured about security concerns.

Such road openings have been done in Las Piñas and Makati, with positive impact on traffic. San Juan is considering a similar move. The DILG should order it for the rest of congested Metro Manila, particularly in Parañaque where unregulated collection of fees for vehicle stickers to use highly commercial subdivision roads has become unconscionable. Parañaque will never offer up a template for any aspect of good governance.

“What we created in Marikina is a culture of discipline,” Teodoro told us. “A government with credibility… with political will to consistently implement regulations.”

*      *      *

The city government also allotted certain areas where sidewalk vendors were relocated.

During clearing operations, the city government’s community relations officers accompany the clearing teams. The officers are trained to explain to those affected, in language they can easily understand, why sidewalks and roads have to be cleared.

Cleared sidewalks mean greater foot traffic for commercial establishments, Teodoro says, so the local business community supports the clearing operations.

Marikina is defined by law as the shoe capital of the Philippines, so the local government, he says, must support the city’s “shoepreneurs” and their 200-year-old industry.

Marikina shoes need better marketing and tannery upgrade, the mayor acknowledges. The tannery weakness is augmented by importing materials. The marketing aspect is addressed by the city government through support in branding and finding outlets for the products, with focus at this point on regional markets.

Don’t imports from China pose stiff competition? The city’s testing center for shoe wearability (yes, there is such a test, Teodoro stresses) shows that China-made shoes can last only three months with daily wear. Marikina-made shoes, on the other hand, can last a minimum of two years, Teodoro swears.

And a Marikina company called All About Shoes is marketing products with a lifetime warranty.

Teodoro isn’t crowing about the city’s accomplishments. “Hindi naman kami magaling eh,” he told us. “We simply realize the fact that we should serve our people.”

For other LGUs considering the Marikina governance template, Teodoro has a basic guideline: “We start with the issue of discipline.”

*      *      *

Not EU: Clarification: Iceland is a member of the Nordic Passport Union and the Schengen Area which is under European Union law, and is a member of the European Free Trade Association, but it is not a member of the EU.