MANILA: The Quezon City government has issued an apology to vendors whose property was apparently destroyed and confiscated in a road clearing operation in Barangay UP Campus in Diliman on Tuesday. In a statement Wednesday, the city government said that while the clearing operation was consistent with the recent directives of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the operation itself was not properly done. 'On behalf of the entire city government, therefore, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies to all those who were aggravated by the poor handling of our DPOS (Department of Public Order and Safety) enforcers,' QC Mayor Joy Belmonte said in the statement. The QC government said that based on their initial investigation, the clearing was done upon the request of University of the Philippines Diliman Vice Chancellor Roehl Jamon, who coursed the appeal through the Barangay UP Campus' Punong Barangay, Kapitan Lawrence Mappala. However, Belmonte said the actions by the DPOS while undertaking the task was far from the goal of the city government, which demands from their workers 'the highest levels of empathy, compassion, and respect for human rights.' In implementing activities such as a road clearing, she said there should always be full coordination with all the stakeholders, supported by clear and timely lines of communication. 'Please rest assured that we have already started drafting a framework for future operations of this nature, based on the principles of transparency, consultation, participation, the minimization of harm, and optimal outcomes for all concerned parties. Once this is finalized, we shall ensure that all our departments and agencies comply with its implementing rules and regulations,' the city government said. Source: Philippines News Agency
