‘GOAL ACHIEVED’: Baronda says ‘People’s Meetings’ bridged agencies, residents on city flooding

By Mariela Angella Oladive

Iloilo City Lone District Representative Julienne “Jam-jam” Baronda described the outcome of her series of People’s Meetings as a “goal achieved,” saying the consultations allowed national and local agencies to directly hear and respond to residents’ concerns about the city’s persistent flooding problems.

Baronda made the remarks during the fourth and final leg of the People’s Meeting on October 29, which tackled flooding in the Lapuz and La Paz districts.

The series was organized by her office in partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways–Iloilo City District Engineering Office (DPWH–ICDEO).

It gathered representatives from national agencies, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), Department of Education (DepEd), and National Irrigation Administration (NIA), along with city offices, people’s organizations, barangay officials, homeowners’ associations, and residents.

“Our series of People’s Meetings have surfaced questions, provided answers, opened eyes, and confronted realities,” Baronda said in a statement.

“This shows that when people engage in respectful and civilized discussions, we can arrive at solutions, address doubts, and understand our responsibilities while seeing the bigger picture beyond ourselves,” she added.

She emphasized the importance of unity in solving the city’s flooding problem, noting that the real challenge lies in the recurring floods—not in disagreements among stakeholders.

She urged participants to take practical steps such as keeping canals clear of garbage, including drainage projects in barangay development plans, and ensuring that both the city government and national agencies act on the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and DPWH flood control studies.

City Council Majority Floor Leader Rex Marcus Sarabia, who attended the final session with Councilor Nene De Llana, commended Baronda for initiating the consultation.

“This is a good step toward ensuring transparency and properly addressing our flood problem,” he said.

Sarabia revealed that the city’s 2026 Executive Budget currently has no allocation for flood control projects, explaining that the Council prioritized funding for the relocation and housing of informal settlers along waterways—long identified as major obstacles to infrastructure implementation.

He admitted, however, that while he appreciated the initiative, limited time during the forum prevented him from asking all of his prepared questions.

Despite this, Sarabia assured his full support to the DPWH and Baronda’s office in expediting flood mitigation efforts across the city.

“For the residents of the city, as the chairperson of the Committee on Appropriations, I promise that we will work together on this,” he said.

The People’s Meetings, conducted from October 23 to 29, addressed flooding concerns in the city’s districts and served as a platform for government agencies, barangay officials, and residents to promote collaboration, transparency, and shared responsibility.

Baronda said another round of consultations is being planned, this time with students, to raise awareness and gather youth perspectives on the city’s flooding and environmental issues.