• GILBERT P. BAYORAN / THERESA MAE DULMAN
Following the scrapping of budget for flood control projects in the 2026 National Expenditure Program, Bacolod Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is looking for funds to finance it, even just the maintenance of existing drainage systems in Bacolod City, his spokesman, Atty. Caesar Distrito disclosed on Thursday.
Benitez earlier said that the completion of the P152-million diversion channel at the Bacolod Reclamation area may have to wait, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. redirected the P252 billion in funds originally earmarked for locally funded flood control projects to education, health, housing.
The reappropriation, according to the Bacolod solon, will affect the last tranche of the P100 million earmarked for the Bacolod City diversion channel project.
Distrito said that Benitez is coordinating with the City Engineer’s Office and the Department of Public Works and Highways to ensure that there will be a joint undertaking on the flood problems in Bacolod City.
Distrito, who attended the inauguration and blessing of the Bacolod congressional office on Friday at Burgos Extension in Bacolod City, said that Benitez also ordered the DPWH to make sure that all drainage systems and waterways in Bacolod City should be free from blockage to prevent floods.
The unfinished diversion channel located at Burgos Street in Bacolod City, is a flood control project designed to convey excess flood waters and reduce the risk in flooded areas.
THURSDAY FLOODS
At least four families lost their homes and fourteen others saw their houses damaged after heavy flooding caused by heavy rains in Bacolod City on Thursday evening.
According to reports, water was as high as four feet in some areas, and Barangays Banago and Villamonte bore the brunt of the damage from the floods. Each barangay reported two houses as totally damaged.
Barangay Banago also recorded an additional 14 houses that were partially damaged by the floodwaters.
These two barangays were among the most affected by the flooding, which prompted the evacuation of 68 families in Villamonte and 28 families in Banago.
A total of 130 families, or 375 individuals were evacuated city-wide, but all affected have returned to their homes by Friday morning.*
