MANILA -- At last, the long-awaited wind of change has begun blowing from the Quezon City Hall in Diliman toward the distant former town of Novaliches near Bulacan province.
Amid this development, the local residents are hoping that the current favorable wind direction they have been waiting for decades would stay on its course and not change after a few weeks, months or years.
The change came after the assumption by Mayor Joy G. Belmonte of the Quezon City government last July 1 taking over from Mayor Herbert "Bistek" Bautista.
It was a direct result of the order of President Rodrigo R. Dutete to Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año to dismiss or suspend local government officials who fail to reclaim roads, sidewalks and other public spaces being used for private interests in their areas.
Last July 29, the DILG secretary declared a 60-day deadline for local executives to clear streets, sidewalks and public parks of obstructions.
In a statement on Sept. 29, Belmonte said: “Quezon City is 100 percent done in its clearing operations. For the past weeks, the QC local government, through its Task Force 60 Days, has been persistent in its efforts to comply with the rules of the DILG in this operation.”
Meanwhile, Año said DILG teams are now validating compliance of local government executives nationwide to the President's orders issued in his fourth State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) last July 22.
In the Novaliches area, otherwise known as Quezon City's 5th congressional district, first to be affected by the wind of change were the sidewalks of Barangay Novaliches Proper, also considered as the former Novaliches Poblacion or town proper.
Clearing of the sidewalks along Gen. Luis St. leading to Valenzuela City, Susano Road heading to Camarin and other North Caloocan City areas, Buenamar Ave., and Quirino Highway from Barangays Sta. Monica to Novaliches Proper took place after Belmonte visited Novaliches on the evening of July 30.
The clean-up campaign was done by a joint team led, among others, by QC traffic czar lawyer Ariel Inton, former 2nd District Councilor Rannie Ludovica, Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS), Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department (EPWMD), and Novaliches District Center (NDC) in coordination with barangays Novaliches Proper and Sta. Monica officials.
A week later, the same team began dismantling the commercial stalls of numerous vendors who had occupied for more than 10 years the old Novaliches public plaza, depriving the local residents, especially the elderly ones, of their only place for leisure and recreational activities.
Also cleared of obstructions were the sidewalks of Ramirez, Austria, Sarmiento, Dumalay and Geronimo streets around the Novaliches Poblacion and the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of Mercy, as well as those in barangays Gulod, Sta. Lucia, San Bartolome, Bagbag, Kaligayahan, San Agustin, Pasong Putik, Greater Lagro, Fairview, North Fairview, Nagkaisang Nayon, and Capri.
While the sidewalks have been cleared of vendors, Olivia Peralta Mananquil, a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair as her transport mode, complains that she and other people like her remain in constant danger of being hit by speeding motor vehicles while passing through Susano Road, Gen. Luis St. or Quirino Highway.
Mananquil said they are forced to travel along the street proper because their wheelchair cannot be accommodated by the sidewalks which have no adequate ramps.
It has also been noted that big electric posts have been erected right on the sidewalks, blocking the orderly flow of pedestrians.
"Hindi makaraan ang mga naka-wheelchair sa bangketa na sobrang mataas at hindi pantay sa ilang lugar, at mayroon ding malalaking poste (We cannot pass through the sidewalks in a wheelchair because the sidewalks in some areas are usually high and uneven, and sometimes blocked by posts)," Mananquil said.
Some old-time residents expressed hopes that the cleanliness campaign will be sustained.
"Sana ay hindi 'ningas-kugon' lamang (I hope it does not become 'ningas-kugon' or effective only at the start)," resident Celso Jojo Obras said. (PNA)
