MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City government, laying the groundwork for new road-clearing operations, urged residents to report abusive traffic enforcers through Facebook — embracing an increasingly popular if legally gray method for airing grievances.
“We are calling on residents to report abusive enforcers to us. Take a photo or video of them and post and tag the official Facebook account of the local government,” Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a statement on Sunday.
She signed an executive order on Friday creating the Quezon City Task Force Road Clearing 2.0, which she directed to lead a second round of road-clearing operations that would begin today, Feb. 17.
The operations were set in motion by Interior Secretary Eduardo Año when he ordered mayors in 2019 to clear their roads of all obstructions within 60 days or face stiff penalties, including suspension. This prompted several sweeping and at times aggressive new traffic policies.
Belmonte said the task force would “exact accountability and impose sanctions against nonsupportive or noncompliant local officials and employees” with the resumption of the road-clearing operations.