Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia says seminars organized by DILG disrupt local government operations. | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Instead of assisting local government units (LGUs), Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has accused the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) of being a hindrance in the delivery of public services.
Garcia said department heads attend seminars organized by DILG that contribute to the piling up of office work.
“Sometimes, I’m wondering if sakto ba na ang direction sa atong DILG nga sige lang og seminar-seminar, workshop-workshop, training-training unya daghan kaayo og mga dokumento nga ipa-produce mura raba og nakatabang sa LGUs,” said Garcia.
(Sometime I’m wondering if the DILG is heading towards the right direction. They keep on conducting seminars, workshops, trainings and asks LGUs to produce many documents. It’s as if all these help LGUs.)
Addressing the DILG in the vernacular, Garcia described the agency as a nuisance.
“Dagko kaayo ni silag budget sa seminar. Sa budget hearing pa lang sa katong naa pa ko sa Kongreso, ato na ning gibabagan kay samok kaayo mo uy. I’m experiencing this for the first time. Instead of being of assistance to us, nagsamok-samok na man hinuon mo,” Garcia added.
(They have huge budget in conducting these seminars. During budget hearings when I was still in Congress, I already blocked [the approval of their budget] because you’re a nuisance. Instead of being of assistance, you are a nuisance to the LGUs.)
Garcia made these remarks against the DILG after the agency failed at least one city and six towns under Cebu province in their road clearing efforts.
These are Carcar, Badian, Carmen, Compostela, Ginatilan, Moalboal and Pinamungahan.
READ: Cebu governor says DILG should have helped towns to clear roads instead of merely assessing
Garcia earlier said that she is not amused with the DILG’s approach in assessing the compliance of the towns in the road clearing order.
She said the DILG should have spent more time going around the towns to monitor their road-clearing efforts within the 60-day period instead of “sitting in seminars in posh hotels.”
According to Garcia, even the barangays and department heads in the towns complain about the seminars and paper works that the DILG requires them to attend and comply.
The governor said DILG disrupts LGU operations because department heads attend these seminars which run for more than a day and are held outside the province.
“Imagine, tag-unom, tag-pito ka mga department heads mawala diri kay pa-attendon ana ilang seminar-seminar kay duna na pod silay nahunahunaan nga bag-o. Ako, di man nako pa-attendon. Mas daghan pa tag mabuhat diri,” Garcia said.
(Imagine, six to seven department heads are not here because they are required to attend a seminar because the DILG thought about implementing something new. I don’t let them attend seminars anymore. We can do more here.) / celr