THE HOURS of shearline-induced rains on Saturday, January 31, eventually caused what authorities described as “abnormal flooding” in northern Negros Occidental and in the capital, Bacolod City.
Abnormal, in the sense that floodwaters in Sagay City and parts of Toboso rose as high as the rooftops of houses — an alarming and terrifying sight.
In other localities such as Calatrava, E.B. Magalona, and the cities of Silay, Victorias, Talisay, and Bacolod, floodwaters ranged from knee- to waist-deep.
In the so-called “City of Smiles,” recurring, frustrating, and downright disgusting flooding once again hit 24 of the city’s 61 barangays, with Purok Carvic fronting Robinsons Mall in Barangay Mandalagan remaining a perennial trouble spot.
In the SM City Bacolod area — located within the reclamation zone — floodwaters never fail to make an appearance, despite the presence of the controversial P152-million diversion channel project. This ambitious flood-control undertaking was implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in partnership with Almana Construction Corporation (ACC).
Ironically, this year’s first flooding incident in Bacolod came just 49 days after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. visited the city and led the launch of the “Oplan Kontra Baha” project at Mambuloc Creek on December 12, 2025.
As part of well-publicized anti-flood measures, Bacolod Lone District Congressman Albee Benitez also hired 3,000 so-called “river warriors” to clean waterways across the city.
But the outcome? A stopgap at best — no real impact, no cure for flooding.
‘UGLY TRUTH’
In Sagay, the rains and flash floods unearthed an ugly truth. First, the approach of the P66-million World Bank-funded Himoga-an Bridge 2 in Barangay Puey was eroded, exposing what appeared to be mere sandbags used as interlocking materials during embankment filling.
As a result, the riprap — installed without sheet piles — collapsed, forcing the provincial government of Negros Occidental to rush emergency repairs.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, February 1, Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said the damage caused by the flash flood in Barangay Puey had already been brought to the attention of Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and the Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO), headed by Engr. Ernie Mapa.
“The eroded approach of the Himoga-an Bridge will be repaired immediately. The PEO team will supervise the contractor’s mobilization of equipment and manpower starting Monday, February 2,” Diaz said. “We are asking for your understanding and consideration for whatever inconvenience this may have caused.”
Himoga-an Bridge 2 was completed in March 2023 under an 80-10-10 funding scheme — 80 percent from the World Bank, 10 percent from the Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP), and 10 percent from the provincial government.
It remains unclear whether the project is still covered by Contractor’s All Risk Insurance (CARI).
The Department of Agriculture named ESJ & Sons Construction and Construction Supply, Inc. as the project contractor.
‘QUITE DISGUSTING’
In Toboso, Mayor Richard Jaojoco publicly expressed his disgust over a damaged road that also serves as an approach to the San Isidro Bridge.
The P15-million project was completed only late last year, yet the recent floods damaged a portion of it — once again exposing what appeared to be sandbags used as geotechnical materials instead of proper steel reinforcement along the road shoulder.
“Quite disgusting to see this kind of project in our own locality,” Jaojoco said in a Facebook post on Monday, February 2.
He called on the DPWH–Negros Occidental 5th Engineering District Office to immediately inspect the bridge project.
Hours after Jaojoco’s online rant, DPWH personnel, together with Kenneth Construction Corporation — the project contractor — moved in to undertake repair works.
MONUMENTS OF IMPUNITY
Now, let’s go deeper.
Damaged houses, ruined properties, compromised infrastructure — and even human and animal deaths — formed part of the grim aftermath of the flash floods.
Acclaimed environmentalist Rusty Biñas, founder of the Green Alert Network (GAN), said the recent flooding in northern Negros Occidental, including Bacolod, was a stark message: there can be no tolerance for encroachment within the Northern Negros Natural Park (NNNP).
Biñas said it is time to strictly demolish illegal structures within the NNNP, which have mushroomed over the years — particularly luxury resorts and rest houses owned by people who should know better.
Any concrete structure built within a “Multiple Use Zone” without a permit from the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) is nothing less than a monument to impunity, he added.
To protect the lowlands of Negros from devastating floods, Biñas stressed that the NNNP must be treated as the island’s primary defense system — not as a backyard for illegal expansion.
“The science is clear: a healthy forest acts like a sponge, with forest soils being up to seven times more permeable than pasture or agricultural land,” Biñas said. “When that sponge is stripped away and replaced by concrete ‘rest houses’ or sugarcane, the water has nowhere to go but down — turning our streets into swamps.”
LIVING RECEIPT
Biñas went further. “Our forest does not just cry for justice; it now screams through the floods that drown our cities,” he said.
The murky water filling our streets, he added, is the living receipt of every tree cut and every illegal structure built within the NNNP.
To restore ecological balance and achieve the mandated 40-percent forest cover for Negros, Biñas said the province must move beyond “master plans” on paper and take real action on the ground.
His warning echoed that of geologist Alfredo Mahar Francisco Lagmay, director of the University of the Philippines’ Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (Project NOAH).
In a September 2025 press conference in Talisay City, Lagmay warned that billions of pesos poured into flood-control structures in northern Negros Occidental — including Bacolod — would be futile unless the province urgently secures and reforests the NNNP.
‘HURT AND BLEEDING’
Biñas and Lagmay are not fortune tellers. Their assessments of Negros’ flooding problem are science-based. Their message is simple and grim: Negros’ forests are in critical condition — hurt and bleeding.
So what is the provincial government waiting for?
Governor Lacson must act — not tomorrow, not the other day, not next month, not next year — but now. He should heed the warnings of Biñas and Lagmay and task the Provincial Environment and Management Office (PEMO) to do meaningful groundwork in addressing the problems confronting the NNNP, as well as Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park (MKNP) in the central and southern parts of the province.
The “brown tsunami” that struck central and southern Negros Occidental during Typhoon Tino on November 4 last year — killing 66 people and leaving 68 others missing — should have been lesson enough.
Saturday’s flash floods in the north only added to the burden. Governor Lacson needs to level up. His administration must go beyond issuing statistics on affected families, damaged properties, and aid distributed. He must — literally or figuratively — feel what nature is demanding now.
Yes, they say nature does not speak. But with what is happening in Negros today, it is saying everything./PN
