• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod ratified July 24 a resolution approving the use of P69,529,959 Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Special Trust Fund 2025 for flood control prevention and mitigation measures.
The fund will be used mostly for the dredging of major rivers/waterways in Bacolod in various flood-prone areas.
The Bacolod City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (BCDRRMC), in its resolution endorsed by the City Development Council (CDC) executive committee, said that “flooding is the top hazard in Bacolod which affects the safety, health, and sanitation of the city”.
It stressed that widespread flooding is in need of an urgent solution, and that one comprehensive and wholistic approach to disaster preparedness and prevention is the implementation of flood control mitigation projects, programs, and activities.
Mayor Greg Gasataya also earlier stressed the need to dredge waterways, particularly the Mandalagan shoreline and Banago River. “Ang ini nga operasyon aton ginapatigayon agud makalikaw kita sa pagbaha labi na guid subong nga tiempo sang tig-ululan.”
“We can’t wait any longer. All departments and the City Council should work together. Let’s have quick and real solutions,” Gasataya had said in a meeting with the BCDRRMC after the floods that affected more than 5,000 Bacolodnons July 11 and 12.
In that meeting also attended by Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Benitez, the City Engineer’s Office said that portions of Barangay Banago, Sta. Clara Subdivision, and the Banago River are critical areas in the implementation of flood control mitigation programs.
Barangays 1 and 2 are also part of the areas that will be subject to the flood control mitigation measures, the BCDRRMC said. | CGC
