DILG-7 road clearing evaluation. | Photo Courtesy of Cebu City PIO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Interior and Local Government in Central Visayas (DILG-7) has completed the evaluation for the road clearing mandate in the local government units (LGUs) in the region.n
The cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu or Metro Cebu’s tricities, have been praised for their efforts.
In his initial statements, Lawyer Ian Kenneth Lucero, Local Government Monitoring and Evaluation Division chief, said the efforts of Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs) in the region to comply with the President’s directive were commendable.
In a statement released on March 12, 2o21, DILG-7 said that they completed the validation for the road clearing in the past week. The validation simultaneously began on February 16, 2021 in the different LGUs.
Read: DILG to LGUs: Validation of road clearing operations starts Feb. 16
To ensure the impartiality of the validation process, validation teams composed of a representative from the DILG, Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and a civil society organization were created and cross-posted, which means they must not be assigned in their original LGU of assignment or residence.
The cross-validation was as follows: Cebu City and Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City and Cebu Province, and inter-LGUs in Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.
Read: DILG wants impartiality in road clearing assessment
DILG-7 has submitted to DILG Central Office the consolidated LGU compliance data as well as the pertinent documents on March 9, 2021, but DILG-7 cannot disclose the validation scores yet so as not to preempt the deliberation and determination of the Ad Hoc Committee on Road Clearing Compliance, which will be the one to determine if the LGU has passed or failed.
Read: Mandaue City expects high marks in road clearing evaluation
LGUs that may be determined to have unsatisfactorily complied with DILG’s road clearing issuances (Memorandum Circulars 2020-027 and 2020-145) will be individually notified of their areas for improvement (AOIs) and provided with an additional 30-day period to comply, afterwhich they will be revalidated by the Ad Hoc Committee.
Read: Cebu City PROBE hopeful to pass DILG evaluation on road clearing
To recall, the conduct of road clearing operations was suspended in light of the threat of COVID-19 starting on March 15, 2020 and resumed on November 16 in view of the flattened COVID-19 curve and improved quarantine classifications.
The effort forms part of the COVID-19 response and recovery interventions under Republic Act 11494, or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, which provided for the regulation of traffic on all roads, streets and bridges and removal of encroachments and illegal constructions in public places.
LGUs were given until February 15, 2021 to comply with the directive in accordance with their respective community quarantine classification.
Earlier, DILG-7 Director Leocadio Trovela remained optimistic that the LGUs could achieve a higher compliance rate or sustain the gains from last year when there was a significantly high compliance rate of more than 90 percent in the region.
DILG-7 through its field offices have worked closely with the LGUs and other stakeholders to fully comply with the presidential directive.
/dbs