BACOLOD City — The city government is seeking approximately P6 billion to implement a comprehensive flood mitigation program while strengthening community-based preparedness measures to protect residents, particularly students, from recurring flooding.
The city’s long-term flood resiliency roadmap, unveiled during the Third and Culminating Bacolod Flood Mitigation Summit on June 9, outlines short-, medium-, and long-term flood control projects estimated to cost around P6 billion and requiring several years to complete.
“The roadmap’s short-, medium-, and long-term projects are estimated to cost approximately P6 billion and will require several years to fully implement,” said Bacolod Lone District Rep. and Deputy Speaker Alfredo Abelardo Benitez.
The summit, led by Benitez, brought together representatives from government agencies, technical experts, community leaders, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders to finalize a comprehensive strategy aimed at reducing flood risks across the city.
A key component of the initiative is the development of a digital flood management platform that will serve as a central repository of flood-related information, including historical flood events, scientific studies, engineering recommendations, proposed interventions, and ongoing mitigation projects.
Benitez said the platform is intended to improve coordination among government agencies, experts, stakeholders, and local communities through information-sharing and monitoring of flood mitigation efforts.
“Flood mitigation cannot be a one-time undertaking,” Benitez said, stressing the need for sustained commitment and collective action.
The roadmap is the product of consultations and planning sessions that began during the first Bacolod Flood Mitigation Summit in October 2025 and is expected to serve as the city’s blueprint for addressing one of its most persistent challenges.
According to Benitez, a significant portion of the proposed investments will focus on the Banago and Mandalagan rivers, which have been identified as major contributors to flooding in several parts of the city.
He said he has formally requested national government agencies to prioritize projects identified in the roadmap and is seeking funding support through the 2028 national budget.
“The roadmap we present today is not a final destination—it is part of an ongoing journey toward a safer, smarter, and more flood-resilient Bacolod,” Benitez said.
Meanwhile, the Sangguniang Panlungsod has approved a resolution urging all 61 barangays to immediately identify and map flood-prone roads and pathways commonly used by students as classes for School Year 2026-2027 begin.
Authored by Councilor Em Legaspi Ang, the measure seeks to improve the safety of learners, particularly those who walk to and from school and may be exposed to hazards caused by sudden rains and flooding.
The resolution noted that thousands of students travel daily to schools across the city, making it essential for barangays to identify vulnerable routes and provide timely information to parents, teachers, and learners.
Barangays are encouraged to prioritize the mapping of streets and pedestrian pathways frequently used by students and to disseminate information on flood-prone areas to schools, parent-teacher associations, and families. The measure also calls for the posting of advisories in strategic locations during periods of heavy rain and inclement weather.
To strengthen citywide preparedness, barangays are requested to submit their flood-route maps to the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Department of Education Schools Division of Bacolod for consolidation and the issuance of safety advisories.
Ang said the proactive identification of flood-prone areas would help communities respond more effectively to weather-related hazards and enable families to choose safer routes for students.
The twin initiatives underscore the city’s efforts to address flooding through both large-scale infrastructure investments and community-based preparedness measures, with officials emphasizing that protecting lives remains at the center of Bacolod’s flood resiliency strategy./PN
