Barangay chiefs to take over responsibility over LGU-cleared roads

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) today announced that Barangay Captains will be made to sign contracts legalizing their responsibility in maintaining roads cleared by their respective local government unit (LGU).

“One of the strategies that we will adopt is that once a road is cleared by the LGU, a contract is drawn up and signed by the Barangay Captain who then is now responsible for maintaining the cleared roads," DILG Officer-in-Charge (OIC) and Undersecretary Bernardo C. Florece, Jr. said following a meeting of Task Force Road Clearing composed of the DILG, Department of Transportation, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Department of Public Works and Highways, Metro Manila Council, Philippine National Police and other concerned agencies on Thursday at the DILG Central Office.

"There will also be an exit conference with the mayor so that he is advised of the results of the validation,” he added.

Florece also reminded all LGUs of the deadline on February 15 of Road Clearing 2.0 and the validation of program starting February 16-March 2.

He, however, assured that the DILG will be fair in the road-clearing validation but will point out the deficiencies so that this can be acted upon soonest by the LGUs.

The DILG chief also said no-parking signs and visual cues must be placed in cleared roads so that the residents do not go back to their old ways. 

Florece acknowledges that with the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines, LGUs may have their hands full but he nonetheless challenges them to comply with the President’s directive. 

“Nais po nating makita ang tagumpay ng road clearing operations sa buong bansa ngunit ayaw rin nating maantala ang rollout ng vaccine kaya’t dapat galingan ng ating mga mayor,” he said.

February 16 to March 2 is the validation period for all provinces, cities, and municipalities, while March 9 is the deadline for all DILG Regional Offices (ROs) to submit their respective compliance data and forms as well as attachments to the DILG Central Office (CO) - Bureau of Local Government Supervision (BLGS).

The Department, through the BLGS, will ensure that all LGUs adhere to the principles of road clearing, even beyond the validation period making it a whole-year-round program. Personnel from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), as well as representatives from civil society organizations (CSOs), will be part of the local Validation Teams. (Content reposted from the Philippine Information Agency)