Bacolod City legal officer, Atty. Joselito Bayatan, recently revealed 16 out of the 61 city barangays have submitted their accomplishments with regards to the ongoing clearing operations. Based on evaluations conducted by the city government, he said the remaining barangays have attained around 20 to 35 percent of their total accomplishments.
Bayatan said Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia has since released a memorandum circular reminding barangay officials that they have only until Friday of next week to wrap up clearing operations. The mayor noted, barangay officials can expect disciplinary measures from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) if they fail to meet the requirements.
The city official added, those who fail may also faces charges of misconduct in office, neglect of duty, and dereliction of duty.
Last month, Leonardia touted the ongoing road-clearing process, stating, “We’ve seen significant progress.”
Operations were prompted after President Rodrigo Duterte, in his most recent State of the Nation Address, called on “all concerned local officials” to “undertake immediate action to ensure the speedy and smooth flow of vehicular traffic.”/DGB, WDJ