• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is looking for funds to finance even just the maintenance of existing drainage systems in the city, with the scrapping of the budget for flood control projects in the 2026 national expenditure program.
His spokesperson, Councilor Caesar Distrito, said on Friday (Oct. 10) that Benitez is coordinating with the City Engineer’s Office and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to ensure that there will be a joint undertaking to address the flood problems in the city.
Distrito, in an interview at the inauguration and blessing of the Bacolod congressional office along Burgos Extension, said Benitez also ordered the DPWH to make sure that all drainage systems and waterways should be free from blockage to prevent floods.
Benitez earlier said the completion of the P152-million diversion channel at the Reclamation Area may have to wait after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. redirected the P252 billion in funds originally earmarked for locally funded flood control projects to education, health, and housing.
The reappropriation will affect the last tranche of the P100 million earmarked for the city’s diversion channel project.
On the night of Oct. 9, at least 130 families composed of 375 individuals in various barangays evacuated their homes due to flooding, reaching as high as four feet in some areas.
All of them have already returned to their respective homes on Friday. | GB
