President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon are arriving on Friday to inspect the Oplan Kontra Baha clearing operations of rivers, creeks, and drainages in Bacolod City, Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Wednesday, Dec. 10 .
Benitez said he will also present to the President the results of the Second Bacolod Flood Mitigation Summit held at Sugarland Hotel in Bacolod City on Wednesday.
The second summit was held to refine short, medium, and long-term interventions and align them toward the creation of a Flood Mitigation Masterplan, Benitez said, which will be “a blueprint for the next decade, not just the next storm.”
The masterplan is expected to include drainage inventory and enforcement measures, relocation of at-risk families, systematic dredging, major engineering works such as catch basins and widened river channels, and environmental strategies including mangrove rehabilitation and rainwater harvesting, he said.
Solving Bacolod’s long-standing flooding problem “is not a choice —It is a necessity for a growing, thriving, and forward-looking city,” Benitez said in his speech at the summit.
“If we want Bacolod to reach its full potential, we need to confront the problems that hold us back. Today is about facing that reality squarely — and building a future where flooding does not define Bacolod,” he said.
Benitez said “there is no single project, no single agency, and no single individual who can solve flooding. It takes engineering. It takes science. It takes planning. It takes enforcement. It takes citizen discipline. It takes leadership. It takes everyone.”
Since October, technical teams and sector representatives have compiled a comprehensive matrix outlining Bacolod’s flood-related challenges and corresponding interventions, he said.
The matrix “tells us the truth about our situation” — from obstructed waterways, the need for humane relocation of households living along riverbanks, outdated drainage systems, and persistent waste management problems, to the certainty that climate change will worsen rainfall patterns, he said.
“But the matrix also tells us something else: Bacolod is full of solutions—solutions from engineers, civic groups, national agencies, and from Bacolodnons themselves. This alone gives me hope. Because a community that works together is a community that wins,” Benitez said.
He also acknowledged the Department of Public Works and Highways for updates on Oplan Kontra Baha, noting that consistent clearing and desilting work is essential.
“Our rivers cannot remain clogged for years and then be cleaned for one day — we need consistency, and this is the start of that discipline,” he said.
A Technical Working Group will consolidate all recommendations from the first and second summits into a white paper, forming the basis of the long-awaited masterplan, he said.
He said the Bacolod masterplan aims to serve as a model for the rest of the country.
“If we succeed here, I hope this becomes a blueprint not just for Bacolod, but for every city and community in our country facing the same challenges,” he said.
A third summit will be held next year to finalize flood control projects under the masterplan to be pushed for funding in the 2027 national budget, he added.
WASTE TO ENERGY PROGRAM
Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya thanked Benitez for initiating the move to create an upgraded flood mitigation masterplan.
He said the city government has also begun work to rehabilitate the Mandalagan and Banago rivers through the clearing of waste and silt.
The Bacolod City government is also set to sign a Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Energy for a waste-to-energy program, Gasataya said.
Bacolod will be one of the pilot areas for the program that will help with the disposal of the city’s solid waste, he said.*
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