Taguig gets 2nd chance in road clearing ops

The Department of the Interior and the Local Government (DILG) has taken back the low grade it gave to the Taguig City government for its poor compliance with the President’s order to clear all public streets of obstructions.

This was after Mayor Lino Cayetano explained the city’s “unique situation” as a “probinsyudad,” and bared his long-term mobility plan which, according to him, would take more time to implement than the 60-day period given by the DILG.

“Taking into consideration the unique characteristics of the City of Taguig and its numerous efforts to comply with DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2019-121, the DILG is therefore nullifying the Low Compliance Rating it earlier gave to the city,” Interior Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a statement on Wednesday.

The DILG, he added, was made aware of the “unique challenges” faced by Taguig as a probinsyudad, including a “unique mix” of developed roads in highly urbanized areas particularly in Bonifacio Global City and McKinley Hill; and narrow roads in the old part of the city which were originally designed for the use of kalesas.

“We are therefore set to make necessary changes to improve the assessment process to strike a balance between the need to clear our roads and providing our LGUs (local government units) enough time to work on improving their respective jurisdictions given that not all LGUs are similarly situated,” Malaya said.