By CESAR JOLITO III
The Negros Island chapter of the advocacy group AGHAM has raised alarm over the worsening flood situation in Bacolod City, attributing the problem to decades of rapid and poorly planned urban development that failed to account for comprehensive flood control and drainage systems.
In a press statement released on Thursday, February 5, AGHAM said Bacolod historically did not suffer from severe flooding, except in limited low-lying areas such as parts of Barangay Singcang and Banago.
However, in recent years, floods have reached unprecedented levels across several barangays, including Mandalagan, Villamonte, Mansilingan, Taculing, and Pahanocoy.
AGHAM traced the flooding problem to extensive land conversion, road construction and real estate development over the past 50 to 75 years, particularly the last two decades, which altered the city’s natural terrain, rivers, creeks, wetlands, and watersheds.
The group said agricultural lands, mangroves and natural buffer zones were replaced by subdivisions, business districts, highways, and concrete drainage systems that were not designed in harmony with the environment.
As a result, rainwater runoff from upland areas is now trapped within urban centers, causing prolonged and widespread flooding even after rainfall subsides.
No updated flood control plan
Based on its initial assessment, AGHAM claimed that Bacolod lacks an updated, comprehensive flood control, drainage and traffic management plan, despite reports of billion-peso feasibility studies conducted in recent years.
The organization described many flood control projects implemented from 2017 to 2025 as reactive, fragmented and politically driven, citing instances of poorly designed drainage works and flood walls that, according to AGHAM, could have been replaced by more sustainable and cost-effective nature-based solutions.
The group also questioned recent statements by city officials, including plans focused on canal cleaning and diversion channels, saying these measures remain “patchwork solutions” that fail to address the root causes of flooding.
AGHAM urged the city government, national agencies and the private sector to jointly develop a science-based, comprehensive and sustainable urban development plan.
It also called on Mayor Greg Gasataya to make public an accounting of flood control and infrastructure projects undertaken during his term as congressman from 2017 to 2025, saying such transparency would help ground future solutions in past performance and present realities.
AGHAM said it remains open to facilitating dialogues and planning sessions in the interest of public welfare and long-term resilience.
The diversion channel project, launched by the city government in 2023, carries a budget allocation of P152 million and forms part of the government’s broader flood mitigation initiatives in flood-prone areas.
The Department of Public Works and Highways has set the first week of February as the target date for the operationalization of the diversion channel project intended to mitigate flooding in the reclamation area./CJ, WDJ