• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The completion of the P152-million diversion channel at the Bacolod Reclamation area may have to wait, Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Monday, Sept. 22.
This, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. redirected to education, health, and housing the P225 billion in funds originally earmarked for locally-funded flood control projects.
Benitez said the reappropriation will affect the last tranche of P100 million earmarked for the city’s diversion channel project.
Located along Burgos Street, the diversion channel is a flood control project designed to convey excess flood waters and reduce the risk in flooded areas.
It is seen to address the flooding problem in the downtown area near a major shopping mall.
Benitez said the executive branch has urged the Congress to put all the flood control project funds in other agencies such as the Departments of Health, Social Welfare and Development, Education, and Human Settlements and Urban Development, which are in need of the funding.
The P225 billion in funds were originally allotted for locally-funded flood control projects in the proposed 2026 national budget.
Benitez said he was told that the more than P100 million budget for the diversion channel will not be included this year.
With this development, Benitez said he is lobbying for additional classrooms and housing units in Bacolod City instead.
Benitez said the budget for the Department of Public Works and Highways is now earmarked for roads and bridges. | GB
