SHOW CAUSE ORDER. Interior and Local Government Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya (left) and Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño update the members of the media on the number of local government units that have low compliance rating on the government's road clearing drive during a press briefing on Tuesday (Oct. 22). According to the latest data from the DILG-Bureau of Local Government Supervision, as of October 16, of the 1,516 validated LGUs, 387 got a high compliance rating, 635 got medium compliance, and 393 got low compliance while 101 LGUs received a failed rating and were issued show-cause orders by the Department. (PNA photo by Christopher Lloyd Caliwan)
MANILA -- The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has issued a show-cause order against 99 barangay chairmen in the city of Manila for not maintaining the campaign to clear roads and sidewalks in their area.
During the press briefing on Tuesday, DILG Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño said the village chiefs are given five days from receipt of the orders to explain why they cannot maintain the clearing operations, led by Mayor "Isko Moreno" Domagoso.
The DILG will also recommend to the city council the barangay heads' suspension if they fail to explain, the DILG official said.
Diño further warned that these barangay officials may be suspended and removed from the government service.
"Pag mabigat, sila ang nagpapa-illegal parking, sila ang nagko-conduct ng illegal sidewalk vendor, hindi lang suspension kung hindi pagkatanggal sa kanilang pwesto (If their violations are grave like they allow illegal parking and tolerate illegal sidewalk vendors, they don't only face suspension but dismissal from their posts)," Diño said.
He said the public may complain to DILG regional offices of illegal parking and other forms of road obstruction.
Meanwhile, DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said from a total of 97, it ballooned to 101 local government units (LGUs) that have failed to comply with the campaign to clear roads and sidewalks of obstructions nationwide.
According to the latest data from the DILG-Bureau of Local Government Supervision, as of October 16, of the 1,516 validated LGUs, 387 got a high compliance rating, 635 got medium compliance, and 393 got low compliance while 101 LGUs received a failed rating and were issued show-cause orders by the Department.
Malaya said there will be another validation in December as the LGUs will have to conduct sustained operations to restore discipline in all public roads and streets.
“Our mayors should exert maximum efforts by eliciting the support of your barangay officials and your constituents we urge those low-compliant to treat this as an opportunity to do better and scale up your initiative so that ratings will improve in the next round of validation this December. The validation will now on a quarterly basis. The next one will be in December and we will do this until the end of the term of Duterte administration,” Malaya noted.
Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año urged LGUs with low compliance or failed ratings to do better and continue their initiatives to clear the roads of obstructions.
“Sustained operations are the key to success in the road-clearing operations. You need to exert more effort by eliciting the support of your punong barangays and your constituents. But everything begins with the political will of the mayor,” he said in a statement.
He specifically cites Taguig City, which despite its low compliance rating, is committed to implementing its “mobility plan” to give residents and visitors quicker and safer travels beyond the 60-day deadline imposed by the DILG.
The plan is a holistic four-phase approach to ensure mobility and went beyond the actual clearing of obstructions on major and secondary roads. It also includes road and sidewalk restoration and “beautification” as well as infrastructure projects.
“That is the kind of attitude that we want. This should be a challenge for LGUs to take the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) directive seriously because, at the end of the day, we will all benefit from the law and order brought about by cleared roads,” Año said.
The DILG chief also advised Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to channel her energy into helping the seven Cebu LGUs to better comply with the Presidential directive rather than going on a tirade of complaints against the Department’s road clearing efforts and other programs.
"We are not here to make things difficult for LGUs but to make sure that LGUs are doing their jobs effectively and efficiently. Besides, the directive to reclaim public roads came from the President himself during his 4th SONA,” he said.
One city and six towns of Cebu province got a failed rating in the initial assessment of the road clearing efforts of LGUs. These are Carcar, Badian, Carmen, Compostela, Ginatilan, Moalboal and Pinamungahan.
“The DILG is your coach and as your coach, we want to prepare and guide you through the whole ball game, from day one up to the last. We want to see you succeed in governance and that is precisely the reason why we have field officers to make sure that you are on the right track,” Año said. (PNA)
