The Metro Manila Development Authority and the Department of the Interior and Local Government are confident the local executives in Metro Manila will meet the 60-day deadline to clear their areas of all road obstructions.
During the 25th Metro Manila Council meeting presided by MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim, Metro Manila mayors reported intensified clearing operations against all kinds of obstruction in their areas of jurisdiction were on track to comply with the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to reclaim all public roads.
San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora reported that 80 percent of roads had been cleared with the suspension of the existing ordinances pertaining to street parking and implementation of no parking on main roads and one side parking at night time only.
He said the local government was now identifying idle lands which could be converted to parking infrastructures.
Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez cited relentless clearing operations were still ongoing, particularly in the vendor-infested Baclaran.
“In partnership with Pasay City government, we are holding dialogues with business establishments to accommodate 2,000 vendors that sell their goods on the roads. We want an ultimate solution for the problem,” said Olivarez.
Pasay City Mayor Imelda Calixto-Rubiano said major thoroughfares had been cleared while 75 percent of the barangay roads had yet to be cleared, also in coordination with Parañaque City government.
Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto said 50 to 60 percent of national and secondary roads had been cleared while tertiary roads were still being cleared.
He said vendors that keep on returning to the streets remained to be a problem.
Navotas Mayor Toby Tiangco said the city would be compliant with the deadline with intensified clearing operations.
Taguig City Vice Mayor Ricardo Cruz Jr. said that the majority of the national roads had been cleared of obstructions.
Makati City Vice Mayor Monique Lagdameo said that the local government had been clearing the city prior to the directive of President Duterte. She said they were monitoring the compliance of barangay captains to the directive.
Las Piñas City Vice Mayor April Aguilar reported that 90 percent of the major thoroughfares in the city had been cleared.
For Quezon City, an official representing the city said 142 barangays had been cooperative in the clearing operations, adding the majority of the Mabuhay Lanes had been cleared.
In the remaining days of the deadline, the local government is looking at pure enforcement of the traffic laws concerning illegal parking and obstructions.
Jimmy Isidro of Mandaluyong City said 100 percent of the major roads had been cleared.
Cesar Chavez of the Manila City government said 90 percent of the Mabuhay Lanes had been cleared and would be turned over to barangay officials.
For Malabon, as far as the clearing of major roads is concerned, all have been cleared.
However, officials representing the city said they had yet to clear the secondary and tertiary roads in the remaining 30 days of the deadline.
For Caloocan, an official representing the city claimed 100 percent of the major roads had been cleared. A concern in their city is barangay halls operating closed-circuit televisions located at dead-end streets.
An official representing Muntinlupa said 100 percent of the major roads had been cleared while continuous clearing operations were still ongoing at barangay roads.
An official representing Pateros said 98 percent of the roads had been cleared.
Lim said he was impressed with the performance of the local chief executives.
“Clearing operations have been successful with the Metro Manila mayors leading the campaign. We can see that there is progress. Our Metro Manila mayors are doing their part but big challenge is maintenance and sustenance,” said Lim, citing that maintenance of the cleared roads was the harder part of the operation.
Lim said barangays officials were responsible in ensuring that roads were cleared of obstructions.
“We asked the barangays captains to do their part in ensuring that cleared roads are free from obstructions. We are warning barangay officials who refused to cooperate may face charges,” said Lim.
The 60-day deadline begun on July 29 after the DILG mandated all local executives to clear the streets of obstructions.