QC report on road clearing: 85% complete days before deadline

MANILA, Philippines—The Quezon City government reported an 85 percent accomplishment rate in clearing main and secondary roads of obstruction days before a deadline imposed by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

In a statement released on Friday, Sept. 20, Mayor Joy Belmonte said she was confident the local government would meet the deadline.

“The work goes on 20 hours a day so we can meet the deadline that’s why we’re confident we will meet it,” Belmonte said in the statement in Filipino and English.

The mayor, however, admitted that Quezon City’s land area—166.2 square kilometers or at least a quarter of Metro Manila—is also a challenge.

She commended residents and village officials at Holy Spirit for their help in the clearing operations. Residents, she said, volunteered to demolish portions of homes built on sidewalks.

The village of Holy Spirit, she added, sets an example in community cooperation. In most cases, she said, city government workers encounter resistance./TSB