BAHA REFUSED INVITATION TO BE IN TASK FORCE

by Gil Alfredo B. Severino
SUNSTAR BACOLOD
Thursday, November 15, 2007

"It is not our task to fix a problem." This was the statement of Agnes Jalandoni, one of the conveners of the Bacolod Anti-Baha Alliance (Baha) which staged a motorcade of 100 vehicles around the main streets of Bacolod Wednesday. After the motorcade, more than a hundred participants stayed at the City Hall's Fountain of Justice where Mayor Evelio Leonardia personally accepted their seven-point “demand” letter.

A spokesman was chosen to appear before the City Council. Jalandoni said Baha refused the invitation of the council. As stated in a Baha manifesto, "We have patiently borne and carried through the years the havoc wrought upon our lives by the flooding in the city, where even the shortest heavy rains or the rising of the tide results in the inundation of entire sections...endangering our very lives." Jalandoni explained the refusal, adding, "What do we know about sitting in a task force? Fixing the flood problem is City Government's task. Baha like media are watchdogs," she said. "The City Government should do its part and Baha as citizens will do its part," Jalandoni also said.

Members of the Tsinoy community represented by president of the Bacolod Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (BFCCCI) James Chua and president emeritus Alfredo Barcelona were also at the Fountain of Justice. In an interview, Chua stressed, "We will participate in any move that will benefit the City of Bacolod." "Like the Baha conveners, we saw how the City had misaligned their priorities. They had a budget to maintain an old airport but they had none for the anti-flood system. Wrong priorities!" Chua said. "The City's efforts are not commensurate to the enormity of the problem," he added. A look at the City's Annual Investment Plans from 2004 to 2007 showed that under the entry "Drainage, Construction, Repair and Maintenance" (DCRM) is a budget of P34,665,000. By opportunity cost analysis, local experts opined that this amount is good enough to launch a serious drainage system project based on a well-studied Master Plan for the entire City.

Assistant City Engineer for Drainage Joel Locsin earlier said that such an amount is sufficient, feasible, and affordable. "What actually happened is that over the years little had been accomplished because the amount released gradually goes to canals and ditches that allow water to flow from one barangay to another," Locsin said. "What we need is to follow a master plan which we have already submitted to the City Development Planning Office," Locsin said. "A master plan is very expensive to make but we already have one. This should already lessen the problem," Locsin added.