DILG: Obstructions still on some roads

CEBU, Philippines —  Illegal structures, illegally parked vehicles and street dwellers are still found on some Cebu City roads despite series of clearing operations conducted by the Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification, and Enhancement (PROBE).

An improvement from the last inspection, however, was observed by the members of the validation team of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) during the final validation inspection conducted yesterday.

The validation team, led by DILG- Lapu-Lapu City officer-in-charge Jonah Pino, was composed of representatives from DILG, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection, non-government organizations, and media.

The team verified the accomplishment report submitted by the Cebu City government on the road clearing.

Pino said that some illegal structures like carenderia, illegally parked vehicles, and some street dwellers are still found in some city roads. But Pino said there was a big improvement in three major thoroughfares--Colon Street, Osmena Boulevard, and Natalio Bacalso Avenue--compared to the result of their initial validation last September 26.

“Hopefully, ma-sustain ra pud ni sa syudad sa Sugbo,” said Pino.

According to Pino, the most important aspect the validation team considered is the effort of the city government to clear its roads from obstructions. They also need to see if the city has a relocation plan for the affected street vendors.

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella is confident that the city has complied with the DILG memorandum circular on road clearing.

“According to the DILG, so far it’s very good,” said Labella.

PROBE head Raquel Arce is also positive that the city will get a passing rate. She said that yesterday’s final inspection was very “thrilling” because there are still areas that are not completely cleared.

Arce admitted that said some streets in Mabolo, Barrio Luz, and Guadalupe are not 100 percent cleared because some street vendors returned after last July’s clearing operations.

“Namalik, so ato nasad gipaclear og balik kay ma-minus man sa points,” said Arce.

She appealed to the public to understand that the road clearing operations will be done gradually because they are still looking for relocation areas for the displaced vendors.

Arce said the city government has a team operating 24/7 to monitor the sustainability of the cleared roads. There is also a team that responds to complaints. The barangays are tasked to maintain the areas already cleared.

Meanwhile, lawyer Ian Kenneth Lucero, chief of the Local Government Monitoring and Evaluation Division of DILG-7 and officer-in-charge of DILG- Cebu City, said that if the LGUs fail to comply with the directive to clear the roads within its jurisdiction, local officials will be issued a show cause order.

As part of due process, the LGUs will be given a chance to explain why they failed to comply with the DILG order. If the reason is invalid, the local executives will face an administrative investigation.

Section 60 of the Local Government Code of 1991 states that, “An elective local official may be disciplined, suspended, or removed from office on any of the following grounds: Dishonesty, oppression, misconduct in office, gross negligence, or dereliction of duty.”

“Ang mga HUCs (highly-urbanized cities), ICCs (independent component cities), component cities, adto sa Office of the President. The municipalities, barangays, adto sa Ombudsman,” said Lucero.

Lucero said that weekly reports about the validation inspection will be sent until October 29.

Today is the deadline of submission of the results of the final validation. Lucero said the results will be announced within the year. — FPL (FREEMAN)