TACLOBAN CITY- The mayor of the Samar town expressed his surprise over report that he would be charged by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) for his failure on road clearing.
Motiong town Mayor Renato Cabael said that he has done his part to fully comply the mandate of the national government to clear the streets of obstructions.
“We have complied this as early as of October last year. While we may have not achieved a 100 percent compliance, we are compliant. In fact, as October of last year, we have achieved 85 percent compliance rate,” Cabael, in a phone interview, said.
He said that during their road clearing operation, they all removed all structures that obstruct the public road.
“We even removed a barangay hall and not just private houses,” the town mayor said.
According to him, they have submitted their reports on road clearing to both the provincial and regional offices of the DILG, but apparently, their papers could have not been submitted on time at their central office reason why they were cited for their allege failure to comply the order.
The town mayor admitted that during the first validation on their accomplishment on road clearing, they were only able to achieve a 65 percent compliance.
But on the succeeding monitoring, they were able to improve it, Cabael said.
“According to the DILG, both in the province and the region (offices), if there will ever be a summon, they will answer it for me so nothing to worry. It was just a case of miscommunication,” he said.
To recall, DILG Sec. Eduardo Ano could face administrative cases for gross neglect of duty and grave misconduct before the Office of the Ombudsman for their failure to meet the standard on road clearing campaign of the national government.
Aside from the town of Motiong, the other town cited by the DILG for supposed failure to meet the standard on national clearing national clearing operation was Boliney, Abra.
Motiong is a fourth class town in Samar having an annual income of over P98 million with a population of 16,000 people spread on its 30 barangays.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
