• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has declared that there are no “ghost projects” in Bacolod City.
The declaration was made by Benitez, in an interview with One News, amid the scheduled joint inspection of the multi-sectoral group, Council of Concerned Citizens (CCC) with officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways, and Bacolod City officials, on flood control and drainage projects worth P652.5 million which were implemented from 2022-2025 in the highly urbanized city.
One project that caught his attention, according to Benitez, was a “cat’s eye (solar studs)” project, which was already stopped. “That was inserted I think in 2024 or 2025. Yon lang nakita (that was all we saw). Otherwise, all the rest, walang (no) ghost project.”
The solar stud project has a proposed budget of P120 million, the solon said.
However, Benitez stressed the need for more flood control projects in Bacolod City.
Fr. Aniceto “Mao” Buenafe, convenor of the Council of Concerned Citizens (CCC), in a letter to Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya, Rep. Benitez, and DPWH officer-in-charge District Engineer Leah Jamero, said the joint inspection initiative is anchored on the principles of fairness, transparency, and accountability.
Buenafe stressed the importance of the inspection, in order for the public to be assured that public funds for flood control are protected and spent in accordance with the law, that all projects from prior years, including from 2022 to 2025, are verified to be existing, functional, and constructed according to plans and specifications and issues of possible ghost projects, substandard work, overpricing, or double funding are addressed.
In response to the invitation, Benitez said he is willing to personally participate in the planned joint inspection of flood control and drainage projects in Bacolod City.
Benitez said it is important for all Bacolodnons to be involved in the process.
Up for inspection by the CCC, DPWH and City officials are projects including the revetment and floodwall constructions at Lupit River, Sum-ag River, Magsungay River, Ngalan River, and Bakyas Creek; drainage construction and rehabilitation works, at Gatuslao Street, La Salle Avenue, and barangay-level drainage systems; and other riverbank protection and flood mitigation projects funded, or completed, within the three-year period.
The joint inspection is set on September 22 and 23, with four projects each day, according to Atty. Cesar Beloria Jr., also a member of the newly-formed CCC.*
