Reclaiming Roads In 45 Days

Vendors, wakes, all sorts of vehicles, basketball courts, barangay halls, shanties, the homeless. Name it and the streets have it.

The traffic problem in the country certainly goes beyond clearing the roads of obstacles, but Metro Manila mayors say its effects can also not be understated.

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, who attended yesterday’s Metro Manila Council (MMC) meeting at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) in Makati City along with other mayors of the metropolis, told reporters they are also aware of the need to look after those displaced by the efforts to reclaim roads.

According to Sotto, the city of Manila has bigger problems in terms of illegal vendors. In Pasig, he said they could set limits and bar vendors from streets and sidewalks.

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto answers questions from the media on the sidelines of the Metro Manila Council meeting yesterday at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority office in Makati City. Photo by Boy Santos, The Philippine STAR

Displacement will be minimal, Sotto said, and “we can provide them places where they can sell.”

A bigger headache for Pasig, he noted, is the setting up of tents on the streets for wakes or other events. “There must be strict implementation. We started with some of the roads, but again we need to double our efforts to comply with the 60-day deadline,” Sotto said.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has given all local chief executives a 60-day leeway to reclaim public roads as it warned that mayors who defy the order would be suspended. But officials later agreed to reduce it to 45 days.

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said it was good that President Duterte saw the importance of giving back the roads to the public for everyone’s benefit.

Moreno stressed it is high time “for each and everyone of us to do our basic job” in harmony with the national government.

Manila was able to do it ahead of Duterte and the DILG’s order, but Moreno said it does not matter.

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno (left) and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez at the Metro Manila Council meeting yesterday at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority office in Makati City. Photo by Boy Santos, The Philippine STAR

In his fourth State of the Nation Address on July 22, Duterte underscored that economic losses due to traffic in Metro Manila alone were pegged at P3.5 billion a day.

“So meantime, I reiterate my directive, my request, my pleadings to the MMDA and all concerned local officials in Metro Manila, and all other cities to undertake immediate action to ensure the speedy and smooth flow of vehicular traffic. Reclaim all public roads that are being used for private ends. Marami diyan,” Duterte said.

The President instructed DILG Secretary Eduardo Año to see to it that his order is enforced. “If there is a mayor or governor, or…sino kang demonyo ka, i-suspend mo Sir Año. Give him time and if he cannot – if he is not up to it… pagpahingahin mo na lang…Wala tayong magawa.”

“They just keep on pleasing their constituents… Ganun kayo eh,” Duterte added.

President Duterte interacts with local chief executives during a gathering at the Manila Hotel on July 23, 2019, a day after his State of the Nation Address.

Yesterday at the MMC meeting, DILG Undersecretary for operations Epimaco Densing disclosed they are set to issue a memorandum circular next week, requesting all the mayors to submit reports on their road networks, road audit and their plans on how to clear the streets. 

Should the mayors fail to address the problem, Densing said the DILG would conduct an investigation to determine if the mayors are guilty of committing gross negligence or dereliction of duty and eventually recommend their suspension.

He said the vice mayor will automatically replace the suspended mayor, and the same procedure will apply to a vice mayor who is suspended for failure to comply with the DILG’s order. 

“This is in coordination with our local chief executives. It is important to do this immediately because this is really an order from the President and we really just have to comply,” Densing told reporters.

“Ang sabi ni Presidente, once na nag-investigate kami, malinaw na may neglect of duty, wala nang dalawang salita, pipirmahan niya agad yung suspension,” he added.

Aside from the mayors, Densing said the DILG might also tap the Philippine National Police and other uniformed personnel to ensure that the roads will be cleared of all forms of obstruction.

He said the memorandum circular will take effect immediately after its publication.

Navotas City Mayor Toby Tiangco and Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte share a light moment during the Metro Manila Council meeting yesterday at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority office in Makati City. Photo by Boy Santos, The Philippine STAR

Under the DILG’s memorandum circular, Densing pointed out it is not only the mayors who will be suspended, but also the barangay officials who fail to clear the roads of all obstructions.

For Metro Manila where traffic is horrible, Densing said the DILG will designate one undersecretary or assistant secretary who will monitor and coordinate with the mayors in implementing the “decongestion programs of the streets and sidewalks.”

He said all the Metro Manila mayors present at the MMC meeting did not raise any questions on the matter but expressed concern over barangay officials.

Moreno said he does not see anything wrong with the DILG’s circular, noting that clearing the streets is doable.

“Enough ’yung sinabi na 60 days na palugit kung talagang gusto mo linisin ang bakuran mo,” Moreno emphasized.

Sotto said he is also amenable to the DILG’s circular as he emphasized that they have been conducting clearing operations like Manila even before the department came up with its order.

Other Metro Manila mayors like San Juan City’s Francis Zamora and Pasay City’s Imelda Calixto-Rubiano have also expressed support for the DILG’s memorandum circular. 

MMDA personnel tow a vehicle parked along Club Filipino Avenue in San Juan during a clearing operation joined by San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora on July 25, 2019. Photo by Michael Varcas, The Philippine STAR

Former MMDA chairman and now Sen. Francis Tolentino and other lawmakers have filed a bill seeking to grant Duterte emergency powers that will allow him to appoint a traffic czar, who will be under the direct supervision of the President and will implement programs and projects to solve the country’s traffic congestion.

Among other proposals in the bill, the traffic czar may enter into direct contracting and alternative modes of procurement for priority infrastructure projects. The protest mechanism provided under the Government Procurement Reform Act will also be suspended.

Private roads, including those within villages and subdivisions, may also be opened for public use.