Benitez pushes comprehensive flood solution for Bacolod

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY — Bacolod Representative Alfredo Albee Benitez said massive dredging and declogging of the city’s waterways will soon begin as part of a short-term solution to Bacolod’s persistent flooding problem.

Benitez announced Monday that an inter-agency body called the Greater Bacolod Waterways Clearing and Cleaning Operations Task Force has been created to coordinate immediate and long-term measures.

The task force will be jointly headed by Benitez and Mayor Greg Gasataya and tasked with crafting a comprehensive master plan to permanently address flooding in the city.

“We have to address the flooding problem in Bacolod once and for all,” Benitez told reporters on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Benitez met with officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) led by Undersecretary Charles Calima, who was sent by Secretary Vince Dizon, and former DPWH Region 6 Director Sannyboy Oropel.

The meeting was followed by a pre-flood summit conference at the L’Fisher Hotel.

Benitez said the group has identified two key components of the city’s flood management strategy — short-term interventions, which include dredging and drainage clearing, and long-term infrastructure solutions that will be developed through the master plan.

He noted that Bacolod will adopt the DPWH’s short-term flood control approach used successfully in the National Capital Region while recognizing that flooding is a global issue that requires sustained and cooperative efforts.

“The short-term plan will be massive,” Benitez stressed, adding that DPWH engineers will conduct a survey of Bacolod’s waterways and drainage systems to determine the funding requirements for implementation.

“This is not just the work of one office or agency — it’s a collective effort,” he said. “We all need to be part of the solution.”

Meanwhile, Benitez has filed a bill that seeks to improve the system for the repair and rehabilitation of the country’s infrastructure assets to ensure the continuity of public service delivery — a necessary measure to address the threats posed by natural calamities.

Arguing that delays in the repair and rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, bridges, and schools result in significant direct and indirect social and economic costs, Benitez filed House Bill No. 5202, or the Public Infrastructure Financing and Insurance Bill.

Benitez stressed that the repair of public works should be prioritized considering their constant exposure to the worsening effects of climate change.

“We are experiencing stronger typhoons and more frequent flooding, aside from the risks posed by earthquakes due to our being located in the Pacific Ring of Fire,” warned the lawmaker.

“The recent spate of earthquakes and typhoons has put a spotlight on the need to ensure that our infrastructure are well-maintained, made more resilient, and speedily repaired or rehabilitated.”

He added that failure to respond to this need could result in losses due to traffic congestion, delays in the transport of food and goods, and the inability to attend to the sick and injured or hold classes, among other wide-ranging consequences.

HB No. 5202 mandates the development of a Disaster Risk and Financing Insurance Strategy that accesses state, non-state, and global sources and employs both insurance and non-insurance financing mechanisms.

A National Disaster Response for Infrastructure Fund with an initial allocation of PHP 20 billion would also be set up for the repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or disaster mitigation of public structures such as schools, hospitals, government offices, roads, bridges, sea- and airports, railways, power generation and transmission structures, and water resource management and supply systems.