A member of the Quezon City Council has asked informal settlers staying near the danger zones to voluntarily vacate the area to spare government authorities from difficulties during rescue operations.

Councilor Ariel Inton of the fourth district of Quezon City said the move will allow government emergency troops to focus more on other areas that may avert toward incidents like deaths or serious injuries in times of natural calamities.

Inton reminded them that by being law abiding citizens “they are doing the country a great deal of service’’ since a huge burden of the emergency and rescue groups are stricken off their shoulders.

“Malaking bagay ang maitutulong ng mga mahal natin kababayan kung makikipagtulungan sila sa pamahalaan. Para sa inyong kaligtasan lisanin na po ninyo ng kusa ang mga lugar na malapit sa daang tubig lalo na ngayong panahonng tag-ulan,’’ Inton noted.

Joselito Cabungcal, chief of the Quezon City Engineering Department (QCED), said that his teams efforts to clean the canals, rivers and other waterways is greatly hampered by the presence of illegal structures.

He noted that collecting household and industrial discards from the drainage systems and waterways would have been much easier without the illegally-constructed structures near the danger zones.

Earlier, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando identified and listed the areas near the waterways as danger zones as water can easily rise during continuous heavy rains.

On orders of Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Cabungcal said that he has mobilized 24/7 flood control team that will haul the debris left on the streets during the recent typhoon.

“Full blast po ang paglilinis namin ngayon sa mga kalye ng Quezon City. Tuloy din po ang paglilinis namin sa mga canal at iba pang daanan ng tubig,’’ Cabungcal noted.

Inton reiterated his call for informal settlers in the city to cooperate and submit themselves to the census conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) and other legal authorities to facilitate the granting of assistance to legitimate beneficiaries.

He noted that the survey on informal squatters will enable concerned government agencies to easily identify the actual number of qualified recipients covered by the “Lina Law.’’

Recently a proposed ordinance authored by Coucnilor Bernadette Herrera-Dy of the first district of Quezon City drew criticisms from various groups describing the measure a ticket for professional squatters to continue their illegal operation in the city.