The Taguig City government is 90 percent compliant with the President’s order to “reclaim public roads which are being used for private ends.”
Mayor Lino Edgardo Cayetano said the accomplishment comes halfway into the 60-day deadline imposed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government for all roads in each city to be cleared.
The imposition of the deadline was in light of President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent State of the Nation Address, where he emphasized that all public roads being used for private ends be reclaimed.
“In Taguig, we have made sure that all roads are being used, accessed and and fully utilized by the public,” said Cayetano.
The city government has been conducting road clearing operations since 2010, he noted.
“This reminder and directive of the President, however, inspired the Taguig government to pass an executive order focusing on long term improved mobility in the city. The EO’s simple yet comprehensive goal is to make mobility in the city for pedestrians and vehicles safer and faster in the City of Taguig,” said Cayetano.
“We just intensified our clearing operations and we are continuing to work with the community so we can move to the next phase of our mobility operation,” he added.
The city government acknowledges that to sustain the cleared roads and making it a normal, there is also a need to improve policy, transform the culture of people and to create supporting infrastructure.
The existing Taguig Vehicle Pedestrian and Mobility Plan has been improved to include Mayor Cayetano’s ten-point agenda that emphasizes the need for a safe city.
Apart from the daily clearing operations then, the local government has opened Mabuhay Lanes, studied opening select villages to vehicles during rush hours, and designated PUV loading and unloading stops, among others.
To transform culture, seminars on traffic rules and regulations, driver etiquette, green driving; information drives on pedestrian walking, green walking; and the intensified presence of enforcers who will sanction errant motorists and pedestrians, among others, will continue to be done, the mayor said.
The installation of traffic lights, the integration of parking spaces in the construction of buildings, among others, will be intensified, he added.
“The goal is for residents and visitors to go to their destinations in Taguig faster and safer, not just for a specific short period of time, but for a long time,” Cayetano said.