The interior department will not move a Sept. 29 deadline for mayors and barangay officials to clear streets of illegal vendors and improperly parked vehicles, an official said Friday.

Local officials risk suspension or removal from their posts should they fail to reclaim thoroughfares being used for private purposes, said Interior Undersecretary Martin Diño.

"Wala pong extension," he said, quoting the directive of Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.

(There will be no extension.)

The Office of the President can suspend mayors who will disobey the directive, based on the interior department's recommendation, Diño told radio DZMM.

"Sabi nga ni Presidente, basta may rekomendasyon ng DILG, agad-agad aaksyunan ng Malacañang," he noted.

(The President has said that as long as there is a recommendation by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Malacañang will take immediate action.)

The DILG, he said, can also file complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman against village officials who fail to stop construction of illegal structures.

Diño said he has also sent show-cause orders to some 1,200 officials to explain their supposed failure to sanction residents who dump trash onto rivers and canals that flow into Manila Bay.

Those who do so can be penalized with a P300 to P1,000 fine and community service of 1 to 15 days under the law, he noted.

Manila Bay's clean-up was launched last Jan. 27, 3 months after the government ended the half-year closure and rehabilitation of Boracay island, another famed tourist spot.

DZMM, September 27, 2019