BACOLOD City Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez is now facilitating the funding of floodgates and pumping stations project to address the flood problems in the city.
"Flood is a major issue and it's not just affecting Bacolod, but it's affecting the whole world. The climate change that is happening around the world is now affecting us," Benitez said.
Due to this, he said the city needs an inter-engineering intervention or floodgate to prevent seawater from entering, and a pumping station to pump the water out when it rains.
“We will do this, and I think it’s not just in Bacolod, it’s all over the world (the implementation of flood control projects),” he added.
The lawmaker noted that he is eyeing to put up five floodgates in the major rivers in the city.
The five major rivers include the Banago River, Mandalagan River, Lupit River, Magsungay River, and Sum-ag River.
Of five proposed floodgates, the National Government has already approved P300 million for the construction of three floodgates for the major rivers in Bacolod City.
The three rivers include the Mandalagan River, Lupit River, and Magsungay River.
Aside from the floodgates and pumping stations project, Benitez said it is now the focus of the city to determine the outfall of the water.
He said the city’s drainage system could not cope with the inflow of the water so they need to improve the outfall.
He added that after July 28, 2025, they will tackle the budget in Congress and he will ensure that the floodgates and pumping stations project will be included in 2026 budget.
From P100 million budget per river, Benitez said he will propose to make it P250 million per river.
On Saturday, July 12, 2025, at least 12 barangays were affected by flood due to heavy rains triggered by the southwest monsoon or habagat.
These villages include Barangays Bata, Mandalagan, Villamonte, Banago, Singcang-Airport, 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 17, and 18, and it displaced a total of 1,152 families composed of at least 5,312 individuals.
Benitez and Mayor Greg Gasataya convened an emergency meeting on Monday, July 14, 2025, with the Bacolod City Disaster Risk Reduction Council together with key response units, including the DRRMO, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Bacolod City District Engineering Office, Bacolod City Engineering Office, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Bacolod City Police Office.
Discussions focused on both immediate remedies and long-term flood mitigation strategies.
Benitez also instructed the DPWH to immediately submit cost estimates for a proposed flood mitigation project to fast-track its implementation.
Priority measures include installing floodgates and pumping stations in vulnerable areas like Banago and Mandalagan to enhance water discharge capacity and prevent water surge. (MAP)