Posted on December 1, 2025
BACOLOD CITY – A ten-day clean-up and desilting initiative is set to commence in Bacolod City, starting November 27 and onwards, as part of the local government’s “Oplan Kontra Baha.”
Bacolod Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said that 3,000 workers from the Department of Labor and Employment’s TUPAD program will be deployed across the city as “River Warriors.”
Their primary mission is to undertake the task of clearing and desilting 30,785.69 cubic meters of silt.
The initiative is intended as a short-term solution to the persistent flooding problems in the city, which Benitez described as a major reset.
The official launching ceremony for Oplan Kontra Baha, which was scheduled for this Friday and possibly attended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has been rescheduled tentatively to December.
Benitez said that a flood mitigation summit will be conducted on December 10 to address long term solutions.
Yesterday, the DPWH-LGU Alignment Meeting for Oplan Kontra Baha was convened at the Bacolod City Government Center.
The meeting was attended by key officials including Benitez, Mayor Greg Gasataya, Vice Mayor Kalaw Puentevella, DPWH Undersecretary Charles Calima, DPWH Region 6 Office of the Assistant Director OIC Ricardo Gutierrez, DPWH-Bacolod District Engineer Leah Jamero, city councilors, and several barangay captains.
During the assembly, the DPWH presented its comprehensive plan for cleaning and deepening the rivers, creeks, and estuaries, aimed to reduce flooding by up to 60 percent.
The DPWH identified four primary challenges and their proposed solutions: clogged drainage and poor stormwater flow will be addressed by clearing blockages using a vacuum sewer jet cleaner and manual debris removal; silted and reduced flow of waterways requires regular dredging and cleaning; infrastructure blockages necessitate the removal of all illegal structures, debris, and obstructions; while poor waste management calls for strict policies, scheduled garbage collection, and ensuring establishments use sewage treatment plants.
According to DPWH, 200 heavy equipment are needed to clear 116.734 kilometers of drainage on national roads and 21.537 km on local roads.
Key operational areas, as presented in the plan, include the launch site at Mambuloc Creek, dredging at Mandalagan River, and clearing at Banago Creek, among others.
Manual clearing efforts are also scheduled for the Mandalagan River (Larson and Gatuslao Streets), Bata North Terminal, Amuog Creek, and Lupit River (Araneta Street).
The timeline started last October 2025 and is expected to end in June 2026.
