The 2nd Bacolod Flood Mitigation Summit to comprehensively address Bacolod’s flooding problems will be held at Sugarland Hotel Wednesday morning, Dec. 10.
Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who organized the summit, said it “is necessary to arrive at real, workable, and future-ready solutions suitable for a thriving and rapidly developing city.”
The summit will synthesize more than a month of discussions since the first summit as the city moves toward the creation of a flood mitigation masterplan, he said.
The first flood mitigation summit was held on October 20.
“The masterplan will be the whole city’s blueprint in solving our long fight with flooding. We are proud to note that as we gear toward this, we have involved as many stakeholders as possible, from national government agencies to civil society organizations, and even Bacolodnons themselves,” Benitez said.
Benitez said that during the one-day event, participants would further deliberate on a matrix compiled after the first summit, which consolidates identified problems and proposed short-, medium-, and long-term interventions.
The Bacolod Anti-Baha Alliance, composed of various civil society organizations, representatives from national government agencies and local officials, will also present position papers.
The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Negros Island Region and other groups will also present their synthesis of the identified problems, proposed solutions, and the full body’s discussions.
A technical working group will then be formed to translate the completed matrix into a white paper that will serve as the initial draft of the Flood Mitigation Masterplan.
Benitez expressed hope for another productive summit, thanking stakeholders who have actively participated for their continued concern for the city.
“One of the main reasons why I believe we will eventually succeed in solving chronic flooding is because Bacolodnons love their city and are willing to do what it takes to preserve and protect their heritage and well-being”, he said.
“Flooding is a problem that faces many of our kababayan, and we hope this summit can offer a blueprint for the rest of the country. We want to show that when a city’s people work together for a common purpose, we can rise above any challenge,” he added.*