• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The completion of the P152-million diversion channel at the Bacolod Reclamation area may have to wait, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. redirected the P225 billion in funds originally earmarked for locally funded flood control projects to education, health, housing, on Monday disclosed Bacolod Lone District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez.
Benitez said the reappropriation will affect the last tranche of the P100 million earmarked for the Bacolod City diversion channel project.
Located along Burgos Street, the diversion channel is a flood control project designed to convey excess flood waters and reduce the risk in flooded areas. It is seen to address the flooding problem in the downtown area, near a major shopping mall in the city.
Benitez said that the executive branch has urged the Congress to put all the flood control project funds into other agencies, such as the Departments of Health, Social Welfare and Development, Education, and Human Settlements and Urban Development, which are in need of the funding.
The P225 billion was originally allotted for locally funded flood control projects in the proposed 2026 budget.
Benitez said he was told that the more than P100 million budget for the diversion channel will not be included this year.
With the after the realignment of flood control project funds, Benitez said he is lobbying and pushing for additional classrooms and housing units in Bacolod City.
The Bacolod solon said that the budget for the Department of Public Works and Highways is now earmarked for roads and bridges.*
