Authorities have given erring motorists, illegal merchants and unscrupulous businessmen another heads-up in connection with the ongoing metro-wide crackdown on illegal parking and other forms of road obstruction.
Rule-breaking vendors and drivers should expect to face tough enforcement with limited leniency from the police force, local enforcers and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
Owners of business establishments were also warned and asked to dismantle fixtures encroaching the sidewalks.
MMDA chairman Danilo Lim and National Capital Region Police Office director Major Gen. Guillermo Eleazar have pledged to clamp down on activities that obstruct traffic flow and endanger other road users both on major and secondary streets in Metro Manila.
Metro Manila mayors also vowed to dismantle informal roadside shops, dwellings and other illegal structures in their respective locality as part of the sweeping cleanup operation to improve traffic congestion.
The crackdown came after President Rodrigo Duterte, during his fourth State of the Nation Address, said that he wants to reclaim and clear public roads in the NCR of all obstructions.
Last Monday, Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año marked the start of the 60-day countdown for Metro Manila mayors to finish the road clearing campaign.
During a clearing operation in Baclaran, both Mayors Edwin Olivarez of Parañaque and Imelda Calixto-Rubiano of Pasay committed support to the MMDA on its bid to make all roads obstruction-free while looking for ways to relocate the vendors.
“We want a sustainable solution to this that’s why we are having coordination with different vendor associations to help them search for a permanent selling place,” Olivarez said.
Calixto-Rubiano, for her part, said she is also meeting with the vendors associations and some private establishments for the transfer of the vendors.
“I also proposed to our city council to craft an ordinance for a night market,” she said.
Lim said the agency will do regular clearing operations at the 17 Metro Manila local government units to make sure that all roads will be free from obstruction within the time frame of the DILG.
“There would be no let-up in our operations as the DILG gave us orders to reclaim the roads for 60 days. We will ensure that these will be done daily to fast-track clearing of all roads,” Lim said.
“We will constantly communicate with the LGUs, particularly with the mayors and barangay officials and remind them what was the President’s directives and that we need to take it seriously,” he added.
MMDA general manager Jose Arturo Garcia Jr. seconded Lim and stressed the importance of clearing roads from all kinds of obstructions.
“These roads were being used for profit for a long time and it’s about time we reclaim it for the common good. Sidewalks are for pedestrians while public roads are for motorists,” he said.
On Wednesday, members of the MMDA Task Force Alpha conducted clearing operations against illegal parking and vendors along NIA Road in Barangay Pinyahan in Caloocan City.
In San Juan City, the NCRPO headed by Eleazar and Mayor Francis Zamora led the dismantling of a police community precinct located in West Crame.
Eleazar said they decided to prioritize the police-owned structures erected on sidewalk and other spaces that are supposed to be used by motorists and commuters to lead the way, even if the structure is used primarily for public service and not for private gains.
He admitted that there are other small police precincts on streets and center islands, but he said, these will be treated on a case to case basis.
“If the other precincts cause undue traffic, they will also be demolished provided that the local government units will transfer them to a nearby area, so as not to disrupt the peace and order situation of the area,” said Eleazar.
“Through this, we are setting a good example that no one is exempted from the President’s order. We hope this would serve as a wake-up call for others to voluntarily demolish their structures that are clearly erected in public areas that are clearly not their own,” he added.
Mayor Zamora assured that the local government will provide a better relocation for the new police community precinct.
In Manila, Mayor Francisco Domagoso said stricter law enforcement action against undisciplined drivers and irresponsible barangay officials will be imposed.