Pili mayor continues road clearing activity

PILI, Camarines Sur – “The off-road parking lots have been removed and we have strictly enforced compliance to designated parking lots, both for private and public vehicles and we are now working on a space where we can put our vendors, putting into consideration their needs to earn without hampering the smooth traffic flow,”the local chief executive of Pili town said recently.

Pili Mayor Tomas Bongalonta made this in reaction to news report from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) tagging his town as one of the local government units (LGU) that failed to comply with the directive on road clearing based from report of the agency’s validation team.

The DILG set the 60-day parameter for LGUs to clear all public roads and sidewalks, especially public roads being used for private ends in compliance to the directive issued by President Rodrigo Duterte during his 2019 State of the Nation Address.

Bongalonta admitted that the gargantuan challenge is indeed difficult, considering that Pili, as the capital town of Camarines Sur is an area where people from all walks of life converge.

“Pili is a corridor. We are in between two cities (Iriga and Naga), and we have a very busy highway. Our municipality, as declared by the Regional Development Council (RDC) last 2018, is one of the top 6 among the municipal towns in the country with what they call economic dynamism. So you can just imagine the bulk of people coming in and the business interactions happening here,” he said

Bongalonta also took pride in saying that Pili is the only municipality in Bicol that hit the income of more than P100 million and could even qualify to be a city in the future.

He said these accomplishments should indeed be coupled with compliance to the directive set by the President and should be a collective effort from all agencies and constituents concerned, especially the punong barangays whose task is to support any LGU endeavors for an effective delivery of services to their community.

“I am seeking the assistance of all the punong barangays of Pili to help us to implement the directive in their respective areas of jurisdictions and assist us in looking for vacant spaces for our vendors and parking areas for the vehicles coming in and out of the municipality so that our main highways and the sidewalks are clear of obstructions,” the mayor said..

Prior to the DILG validation, Bongalonta already issued Memorandum Order No. 016 series of 2019 addressed to all LGU department heads, including punong barangays to take an active part in ensuring that President Duterte’s directive will be successfully implemented in areas specified under the DILG memorandum.

Bernard Estadilla, Pili Economic Enterprise Office (EEO) chief said that they already drafted a rehabilitation plan for displaced vendors. Their office is also conducting seminars for drivers to instill discipline and imposing penalties to erring motorists and lectures traffic violators.

Bongalonta committed to sustain what they have started in compliance to the directive of President Duterte and in support to the municipality’s ordinance. He then appealed to the people of Pili, to cooperate and be law-abiding citizens to sustain their gains. (LSMacatangay, with reports from ECavite,HSaldivar, JRecon-USI Pili/PIAVCamarines Sur)