Bacolod City – The second leg of an initiative launched to comprehensively address the city’s issues with flooding will be held on Wednesday, a step that Bacolod lone district Rep. Albee Benitez said “is necessary to arrive at real, workable, and future-ready solutions suitable for a thriving and rapidly developing city.”
The 2nd Bacolod Flood Mitigation Summit, organized by Benitez, hopes to synthesize more than a month of discussions since the first summit as the city moves toward the creation of a flood mitigation masterplan.
The first flood mitigation summit was held on October 20.
“The masterplan will be the whole city’s blueprint in solving our long fight with flooding. We are proud to note that as we gear toward this, we have involved as many stakeholders as possible—from national government agencies to civil society organizations, and even Bacolodnons themselves,” said the lawmaker, who has been at the forefront of efforts to rally the city’s various sectors to work together to find solutions to persistent flooding.
Benitez said that during the one-day event, participants would further deliberate on a matrix compiled after the first summit, which consolidates identified problems and proposed short-, medium-, and long-term interventions.
The Bacolod Anti-Baha Alliance, a citizen-led group, along with representatives from national government agencies and local officials, will also present position papers. DepDev Negros Island Region and other civil society organizations will likewise present their synthesis of the identified problems, proposed solutions, and the full body’s discussions.
“Flooding may be a tragic reality of our history and our present—but we should refuse to make it an accepted reality in our future.”
A technical working group will then be formed to translate the completed matrix into a white paper that will serve as the initial draft of the Flood Mitigation Masterplan.
Benitez expressed hope for another productive summit, thanking stakeholders who have actively participated for their continued concern for the city.
According to the lawmaker, “one of the main reasons why I believe we will eventually succeed in solving chronic flooding is because Bacolodnons love their city and are willing to do what it takes to preserve and protect their heritage and well-being.”
“Flooding is a problem that faces many of our kababayan, and we hope this summit can offer a blueprint for the rest of the country. We want to show that when a city’s people work together for a common purpose, we can rise above any challenge. Flooding may be a tragic reality of our history and our present—but we should refuse to make it an accepted reality in our future.”
