Metro mayors complain vendors playing cat-and-mouse game in street clearing drive

Metro Manila mayors pose for photos with DILG Secretary Eduardo Año, MMDA chair Danilo Lim, GM Jojo Garcia, after a meeting about road obstructions. Local executives nationwide were given 60 days to comply with President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to clean up streets. (Photo by Gabriel Pabico Lalu/ INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines – Several mayors in Metro Manila have complained that illegal vendors play a cat-and-mouse game whenever law enforcers launch street clearing operations in their localities.

After the meeting between the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) officials including Secretary Eduardo Año and the city officials on Monday, some local executives said that they have consistently tried to clear streets of obstructions caused by illegal vendors.

However, vendors come back after the government teams have shifted their attention to another area.

“Actually no’ng 2002 nagpasa kami ng ordinansa na anything found in the sidewalk is considered garbage and will be disposed of as such. Kaya lang ang challenge talaga d’yan is parang pusa at daga ‘yan eh,” Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco said in the press conference.

“So pagtalikod, bumabalik. So nagki-clear ulit kami,” he added.

Tiangco’s neighbor, Caloocan Mayor Oscar Malapitan, also shared the same observation.

“Sa katunayan noon pa kami gumagawa ng mga clean-up drive, meron lang kaming nagiging problema, kapag na-ayos na namin ang pagclean-up doon sa isang lugar, after one month (babalik sila),” Malapitan noted.

“Eh sa laki ng Caloocan hindi namin pwedeng balik-balikan. So siguro kailangan ho natin ng active participation, accountability ng mga barangay,” he added.

Earlier, Año announced that they have released a memorandum circular that starts the 60-day ultimatum for local executives to rid streets of obstruction. This was after President Rodrigo Duterte asked him to penalize mayors who would not clear areas supposedly contributing to heavy traffic flow.

If a mayor fails to comply within the prescribed period, he or she will be preventively suspended for two months, pending an investigation on why obstructions were not cleared.

READ: 60 day countdown for LGUs to clear public roads starts Monday — Año

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

All of the mayors who attended, including Mayors Marcelino Teodoro (Marikina), Vico Sotto (Pasig), Lino Cayetano (Taguig), Isko Moreno (Manila), Francis Zamora (San Juan), Edwin Olivarez (Parañaque), Rex Gatchalian (Valenzuela), Ike Ponce III (Pateros), Emi Calixto-Rubiano (Pasay), Joy Belmonte (Quezon City), Jaime Fresnedi (Muntinlupa), Vice Mayor April Aguilar-Nery (Las Piñas), and other city officials expressed their desire to work with the President.

Año has designated undersecretaries and assistant secretaries to help each local executive in Metro Manila to achieve this vision.

Mayors were initially given 45 days, but Año said that they have lengthened the window to give local government units (LGUs) in charge of cities with bigger land areas and population ample time to heed by Duterte’s orders.

READ: Metro Manila cops to be more ‘active, aggressive’ in road clearing drive

“We understand that there are so many cities here that are really very big compared to other cities. For example, ang Quezon City ay talagang napakalaki. So para may uniform implementation time, 60 days ‘yong ating ginawa dito,” Año explained.

“And I think that is enough time, a reasonable time for our local chief executives,” he added.

Belmonte, on the other hand, said that it was her who asked for a longer time, because of the sheer size of Quezon City, one of the highly urbanized areas in the National Capital Region.

“Dun sa nagtanong kanina kung sino ang nanlaban sa 45 days, ako po ‘yon. Pero hindi naman ako nanlaban, nakiusap lang po ako na kung pwede pong pahabain ang palugit sapagkat po nais ko lamang maging realistic,” she said in jest.

“Alam ko sa loob ng apat na pu’t limang araw, medyo mahihirapan po tayo. Pero sa anim na pung araw, tingin ko kaya na po nating gampanan ito,” she added./ac