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Marikina is 'gold standard' in road clearing, says DILG undersecretary

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/news/09/24/marikina-tow-truck.jpg"/><figcaption>Courtesy of Marikina PIO Facebook page</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA - The local government of Marikina City is the &quot;gold standard&quot; in terms of reclaiming public roads, a senior official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said on Tuesday.&quot;Sa tingin ko, Marikina is really the gold standard here because they&#x27;ve been doing it for a long time,&quot; DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said on ANC&#x27;s Headstart on Tuesday.Even before President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s marching order to reclaim public roads in order to improve traffic flows, Malaya said Marikina was already doing a good job after Bayani Fernando took over as mayor in 1992 or 27 years ago.&quot;They did it when mayor BF was the mayor and continued, and they passed all necessary ordinances. They have the fines for illegal parking, they have the anti-towing...they have everything there,&quot; he said.Malaya believes that discipline has been the key to Marikina&#x27;s success.&quot;It&#x27;s really the culture of discipline and that culture of discipline is what made it possible and we want to pass that on to the other LGUs,&quot; he said.Malaya said the 60-day deadline for LGUs to clear roads is on September 29. There will be no extension, he said.&quot;We are very pleased because we all know how difficult local governments can be. We&#x27;re pleased that many of the mayors are doing things that we wouldn&#x27;t expect them to do,&quot; he said.A press conference is expected on Monday where the DILG will announce the best practices of each local government that can be emulated by other LGUs.He added that a city needs to comply with the four parameters set by DILG to be classified as compliant.These parameters include:<ul>	<li>revisiting, repealing or enacting new ordinances helpful to road clearing or in easing traffic;</li>	<li>inventory of roads to determine which ones have obstructions;</li>	<li>clearing these roads; and,</li>	<li>displacement strategy or finding a temporary place for displaced vendors to sell their wares.</li></ul>A validation team will assess the compliance of LGUs. Those with red flags will be given show-cause orders. &quot;If we&#x27;re not satisfied with the reply to the show-cause order, then we would have to submit their names to the president and the president would then suspend them from office,&quot; he said.

Local Government Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya says discipline has been the key to Marikina's success.

Local Government Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya says discipline has been the key to Marikina's success.