DILG to ‘closely oversee’ Metro Cebu clean-up drive: OPAV

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Central Visayas (Region 7) will closely supervise Metro Cebu localities in discarding waste left by Typhoon Odette.

In a statement on Friday, Undersecretary Anthony Gerard Gonzales of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV) said the DILG-7 and its provincial and city directors were receptive to the request from the OPAV to supervise road clearing operations in Metro Cebu.

The move, he said, will ensure compliance with the directive to fast track road clearing operations and hasten the restoration of power lines destroyed by the typhoon, citing the need for electricity to power essential establishments and households within the deadline set by the Department of Energy.

He said Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino directed him to coordinate with the DILG-7 amid request from the power distributors to speed up the collection of debris blocking linemen’s access to damaged poles, lines, and equipment.

Gonzales wrote to DILG-7, pointing to such concerns regarding the disposal of debris and garbage left on the roadside two weeks after the onslaught of “Odette”.

In his reply to Gonzales’ letter, DILG-7 Regional Director Leocadio Trovela said provincial and city directors of the department have taken necessary actions to address the concern of power distributors.

“Please be informed that the DILG, through our provincial and city directors in Cebu province and three highly urbanized cities, have already undertaken interventions to address the matter,” read a portion of the letter sent to OPAV dated December 29.

Trovela also reported that most DILG directors in Metro Cebu cities have issued a memo directing village chairmen to carry out clearing operations.

On December 28, DILG Cebu Provincial Director Jhoaden Lucero “likewise enjoined all city and municipal mayors and punong barangays in the province to assist the provincial government, PNP, AFP, and other involved groups in clearing the obstructions and debris along the national and local roads within their jurisdictions,” Trovela’s letter to Gonzales read.

On December 30, Mandaue City has cleared a total of 90 percent of its roads.

Source: Philippines News Agency

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