Village officials in Manila to face raps for failure to clear public roads

MANILA, Philippines — Many barangay or village officials in Manila may be facing administrative cases filed by the local government for not complying with the clearing operations set by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said this on Wednesday as the deadline for the road clearing operations of the DILG ends on Sunday.

“Maraming barangay official ang mabibigyan ng show cause order. Definitely. [Ito ay] dahil sa hindi nila pagsunod sa tagubilin ng pangulo at ng DILG,” Moreno told reporters.

(Many village officials will be given a show-cause order, definitely. They failed to follow the instructions of the President and DILG.)

“Sila ay sapat nang binigyan ng pagkakataon, tamang impormasyon, and enough opportunity. Now, having said that, [they] still did not comply,” he added.

(They were given enough time, the right information and enough opportunity to comply. Now, having said that, they still did not.)

Moreno, however, did not provide how many of the 896 village officials will face administrative cases but said that it is “enough with your fingers, both up and down.”

The directive of the DILG to clear the roads across Metro Manila was made following the order of President Rodrigo Duterte to reclaim public roads for private purposes.

READ: Duterte orders Año: Suspend mayors, governors refusing to clear public roads

Metro Mayors were given 60-days to comply with the order, which ended last September 29, 2019. /je

READ: DILG to LGUs: Clear roads in 60 days or face probe