Posted on October 22, 2025
BACOLOD CITY —The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has chosen Bacolod City as the first area outside the National Capital Region (NCR) for its massive river dredging and drainage declogging program, Bacolod Rep. Alfredo Abelardo “Albee” Benitez announced on Monday.
The short-term solution to the city’s flooding problem is set to begin in mid-November, he said.
Benitez mentioned that an inter-agency task force has been formed, with him and Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya at the helm, to oversee the flood control project.
The task force will include several national agencies, such as the DPWH, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
This initiative will be called the Greater Bacolod City Waterways Clearing and Cleaning Operations Task Force, he added.
The clearing operations will be funded by both the DPWH and the private sector, according to Benitez.
Benitez, Gasataya, and other city officials recently met with a DPWH central office team, led by Undersecretary Charles Calima, at the Congressional Office in Bacolod City to discuss the short-term solutions to the flooding problem. The team was sent by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon.
Additionally, Benitez convened a pre-flood control summit on Monday afternoon at L’Fisher Hotel, where multi-sectoral representatives discussed long-term solutions “to address flooding problems once and for all.”
The city’s flood control master plan will be updated, to complete it by February to ensure its inclusion for funding in the 2027 national budget./coa
