By CESAR JOLITO III

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. will visit Bacolod City on Friday, December 12, to personally inspect the city’s flood mitigation efforts, city officials confirmed yesterday.

The visit, originally scheduled for December 5 for the official launching of Oplan Kontra Baha, was postponed due to Tropical Depression “Wilma,” Bacolod Lone District Representative Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said.

Benitez added that he received confirmation yesterday that Marcos will arrive on Friday to review the city’s short-term flood solutions, including the clearing and maintenance of waterways.

He will also present the results of the 2nd Bacolod Flood Mitigation Summit, held yesterday at the Sugarland Hotel, which focused on sustainable flood management strategies.

Since late November, the city government, together with the Department of Public Works and Highways, has been conducting dredging and cleaning operations on nine major waterways: Banago Creek, Mandalagan River, Mambuloc Creek, Maupay Creek, Lupit River, Magsungay River, Tangub Creek, Pahanocoy Creek, and Sum-ag River.

These efforts aim to restore water flow, remove illegal structures and implement stricter waste management policies.

To support the initiative, at least 3,000 workers from the TUPAD Program, dubbed “river warriors,” have been deployed since November 27 for a 10-day cleanup drive, targeting the removal of an estimated two million cubic meters of waste from rivers and creeks./CJ, WDJ