P1.3B flood control program underway, In Bacolod, Leonardia Says

A P1.378 billion massive flood control program forBacolod City is underway, Bacolod Rep. Evelio Leonardia said yesterday.

The national program, which will be done through several projects, includes the dredging of rivers and creeks in the city plus the construction of flood walls where they are needed, Leonardia added.

Already, a P23-million flood wall has been constructed in Mandalagan River which should address the perennial problem of floods along Lacson Street in front of Robinsons Place, he said.

To follow are the dredging of Mandalagan River, traversing barangays Banago, Mandalagan and Villamonte, P120 million; dredging of Banago creek that cuts through barangays Bata and Banago, P115 million; dredging of Mambuloc Creek across barangays 3, 4, and 21, P45 million; dredging of Magsungay River that flows through barangays Singcang-Airport and Alijis, P45 million; and Lupit River that cuts through barangays Taculing and Singcang, P48 million, Leonardia added.

“Aside from this, all of our road widening projects since we started in 2013 already include proper drainage systems so that water won’t rise in our streets as they have in the past,” Leonardia added.

Bacolod Mayor Monico Puentevella does not need to write the President, we are already doing what we can to address the problem of flooding in Bacolod, Leonardia said.

“Don’t embarrass yourself; don’t ask the President for something that’s already here,” was Leonardia’s unsolicited advice to Puentevella, on learning that the latter had announced he will ask the President for help in solving the flood control problem of the city.

“What he is doing is cheap gimmickry, a desperate attempt to grab credit because clearly, he doesn’t have any impact project to show until now,” the congressman said.

“Unless, of course, if he wants to claim credit for all these projects as he is wont to do. If he does, this isn’t the first time he will claim credit for national government projects in the city,” Leonardia said.

He noted that the mayor had claimed credit for such projects, as the Burgos Extension-BREDCO road and the new Bacolod Economic Highway.

We got these projects without the mayor’s help, thank you, Leonardia said.

The mayor should look after the city roads and start building drainage systems there, too, to ensure that floodwaters won’t have a place to rise when the rains come, he added.

I can only take care of our national roads, the city roads are his responsibility, Leonardia said.

Leonardia said among his road widening projects that have flood mitigating features, are those at BREDCO-Burgos Lacson, P65 million; Barangay Bata, P52 million; Araneta Street, P35 million; and Burgos Lacson-Alangilan, P240 million.

Ironically, Leonardia added, Puentevella who is now trying to position himself as the solver of the flood problem, had opposed the P240-million Burgos Lacson-Estefania, Granada, Alangilan road project whose drainage systems will help address the flooding along its route.*