DILG eyes barangays to take lead on gov’t’s road clearing efforts

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III and Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella conduct an ocular inspection of Osmeña Boulevard and Colon Street on September 30, 2019. | CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines  — Removing obstructions in public roads and walkways will soon be upon the barangay government units.

This as the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) plans to task the barangays to take lead in the implementation of  the road clearing efforts in their respective jurisdictions.

Lawyer Ian Kenneth Lucero, chief of the Local Government Monitoring and Evaluation Division of the DILG-7, said they were expecting a new directive from the DILG Central Office about how the barangays would be expected to carry out the new mandate.

“Naa tay coming nga next validation. Naa mi gihuwat ron nga (There is a coming next validation. We are awaiting a) directive or memorandum circular pertaining to the next validation,” Lucero said in an interview on Wednesday, January 8, 2019.

In a separate interview, Liga ng mga Barangay (LNB) Cebu Provincial Federation President Celestino Martinez III said the inclusion of the barangays in the road clearing effort would be a welcome move in order to effectively enforce easement policies.

“Easement should have been a national requirement when you build. But lately, murag wala na gi-observe and daghan kaayo ang nagviolate ana. It’s been violated time and again na naay establishments nga magbutang og structures on the side of the road which pose hazards to drivers and pedestrians,” Martinez told CDN Digital.

(Easement should have been a national requirement when you build, but lately, it seems it had not been observed and many have violated this rule. It’s been violated time and again that there are establishments that had placed structures on the side of the road which pose hazards to drivers and pedestrians.)

However, Martinez said he hoped that the DILG would also help the barangays especially in the actual clearing activities like demolition of structures.

“The help of the Philippine National Police is really needed especially for areas where the concept of road clearing is really sensitive,” Martinez said.

Aside from the enforcement aspect, Martinez also said that the ownership of lots used as barangay roads might also be a factor to consider in the implementation of the road clearing measures.

Martinez, who is the barangay captain of Cayang, Bogo City, said some barangay roads were owned by private individuals which might pose difficulty for the barangay to enforce the clearing.

Read: DILG files charges against Ginatilan, 9 other LGUs for road clearing failure

In July 2019, DILG mandated the local government units to clear their roads from all forms of obstructions.

As of January 2020, DILG has filed raps against 10 local chief executives including Ginatilan Mayor Dean Michael Singco in Cebu for failing the department’s evaluation in their road clearing performance. | dbs