EDITORIAL - Dereliction of duty

At least seven local government units in the province of Cebu failed in the order to clear streets of obstructions, according to the final report released Friday by the Department of Interior and Local Government.

The city of Carcar and the towns of Badian, Carmen, Compostela, Ginatilan, Moalboal and Pinamungajan are part of 97 LGUs across the country that failed to comply with President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive based on the DILG validation.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the mayors of the 97 LGUs who were asked to explain their side within five days could face charges for underperformance or non-compliance with DILG Memorandum 2019-121.

“Otherwise the DILG will have no recourse but to give their names to the President and file cases against them before the Office of the Ombudsman,” Año was quoted by The Philippine Star as saying.

Aside from preventive suspension, the DILG secretary is eyeing charges for dereliction of duty and negligence against those local chief executives if they cannot satisfactorily explain.

It’s not yet clear how those cities and municipalities failed in the president’s road clearing directive and what was the basis for the DILG in its validation, the reason why many mayors were surprised by the results.

Pinamungajan Mayor Glen Baricuatro and Moalboal Mayor Paz “Lingling” Rozgoni said they have yet to receive the evaluation results. “DILG is not yet sending us the results of their evaluation. Maybe next week,” Baricuatro said in a text message to The FREEMAN. For Rozgini, the evaluation result will be the basis for their next move in road-clearing efforts.

Well, whatever the basis for the evaluation, the threat of suspension and charges for dereliction of duty and negligence would definitely serve as lesson for those local officials who underperformed in the road clearing effort.