P50-M  flood control project eyed to boost Bago City Bantayan Park

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental Vice Governor  Jeffrey Ferrer said a P50-million budget has been allocated by Senator Francis Tolentino for the flood control of Bantayan Park,  the center of commerce and an economic zone of Bago City, in Negros Occidental.

Ferrer said the project will further spruce up Bantayan Park which is fast becoming a landmark in the fourth district of the province of Negros Occidental.

Ferrer attended the 57th Charter anniversary and opening ceremony of the Agro-Industrial Educational Cultural Trade Fair at the Bantayan Park in Bago City

He said he is hopeful that the funds will be released within the year.

Ferrer also said he is also hoping that the other P50-million fund he requested for the repair and construction of a bridge that collapsed two years ago in Brgy. Ilijan, Bago City may soon be released as well.

The bridge connects the Buenos Aires mountain resort to the Twin Falls.

The vice governor also congratulated Mayor Nicholas Torres and members of the City Council, led by Vice Mayor Ramon Torres for the marked improvement of the Bantayan Park, which has become a tourist destination in Bago City.

Yulo said 15 hectares of the Bantayan Park are now owned by the city, and they are also working for the land titles of seven more hectares in favor of the city government.

He said there is a need for protection of the river wall from siltation.

The mayor also said that Bago City is now on its third phase of implementation of the Green, Green, Green Program of the Department of Budget and Management, started by then Department of Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, that aims to make the country’s 145 cities more livable and sustainable through the development of public open spaces.

He said the program helps city governments to create forest parks, botanical gardens, and arboretum, to improve the livability of urban areas.

Bago City received a total of P46 million from DBM, which is being used in the improvement of the Bantayan Park, Yulo further said.

Yulo also reported that Bago City, including its Bantayan Park, was among the Top 6 winners in the search for Green Destination Top 100 stories, an annual competition by Green Destinations, a global non-profit organization created in the Netherlands, to support sustainable destinations.

The title of its entry is “Reviving the Majesty of Diversity of Bago River Watershed,” and the awarding is slated on March 7 and 8 in Berlin, Germany.

It has a big significance to Bantayan Park, which is part of the Bago River, and now also a landmark and destination of the people and tourists, as well, Yulo said.