“We urge the leaders and the people of Bacolod City to unite in the interest of solving the problem of flooding,” Presidential Spokesman Rolando Anthony Golez Jr., told the DAILY STAR last night.

He said flooding has already, and will continue to destroy properties, hurt people, and to displace many families during rainy season.

The Regional Disaster Coordinating Council, in support and coordination with the different local agencies, the City Disaster Coordinating Council, the Office of the Lone District of Bacolod, and other stakeholders, will help facilitate a master plan to address the short, medium and long term problems of flooding in the city with proposed technical, structural and non-structural solutions, Golez said.

The master plan will be discussed thoroughly on a technical level and the implementation shall be considered on how the local and national government can share its resources for its implementation, he said.

“Rest assured that the National Disaster Coordinating Council will be in full support in all the efforts in transforming Bacolod City into a flood-free city,” Golez said.

MAYOR NOT INVITED

Meanwhile, Bacolod Councilor Roberto Rojas, chairman of the Committee on Public Works, clarified that the letter of the Office of the Civil Defense dated April 15 had only asked the mayor to send the Flood Control Coordinating Action Team to join the consultation at the Planta Centro Bacolod Hotel in Bacolod Friday in order to present what it has done about the flood problem of the city.

The letter did not mention that the mayor was invited, he said, but at the meeting hosted by the OCD, some were frustrated that the mayor was not around, he added.

Rojas said that since he had to go for Cebu that day, he designated Executive Assistant Joemarie Vargas to report on their accomplishments. He also said the city has acted on the request of the BAHA group.

INSULTS, THEATRICS

Vargas, however, said the technical meeting did not achieve anything because it became theatrical and insults were hurled against him and the representatives of the Department of Public Works and Highway by a member of the BAHA group. Their presentation on what the city has done to address the flood problem was also rejected, Vargas added.

Present during the meeting were Golez, Sugar Regulatory Administrator and former Negros Occidental Gov. Rafael Coscolluela, Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevalla and the BAHA group.

On the other hand, Mayor Evelio Leonardia said the political agenda of Coscolluela and Puentevella for 2010 became apparent when the SRA head publicly instigated the people there to either sue or recall the mayor.

Coscolluela said that during the meeting he proposed that the preferred option for the BAHA to take is to hold a technical workshop to be organized by the OCD and participated in by all parties concerned for a plan of action to address the flood problem and to get the commitment of the mayor and congressman.

‘FILE CASE OR RECALL PETITION’

But if the BAHA members are not satisfied with the response of the public officials they can file a case for non-implementation of the Solid Waste Management or R.A. 9003, he said. He also said that the extreme option they can take is to file a recall petition, and added that his presence at the meeting was not political but as a flood victim.

Leonardia, however, said it was clear that, during the meeting, they tried to instigate the BAHA to file a case or recall petition against him.

Asked if he believes this is all in preparation for 2010, Leonardia said it is hard to think otherwise. He said Coscolluela is a veteran politician who knows his politics and should know the repercussion of public statements like that, he said.

“I did not join politics only yesterday so I believe I can recognize a comment done with only the purest of intentions,” Leonardia said.

CITY’S IMAGE

It is unfortunate that this came at a time when Bacolod City had just been proclaimed as the “best place to live in the Philippines”, and also recently won for the Best Public Sector Projects for the Visayas, as well as the Most Business Friendly City in the Philippines, among other awards, he said.

Leonardia said if Bacolod City is truly the concern of its citizens, especially its leaders, they are supposed to help see to it that it maintains that image and the good things that will contribute in making the city become a better place to live in.

SPANISH GRANT FOR SWM

Meanwhile, Councilor Greg Gasataya said they met with the representative of Idom last week concerning the P14 million grant from the Spanish government for a study on the Solid Waste Management of Bacolod City.

He said the consultancy firm is conducting an ongoing study which it hopes to finish in July. Gorka Otxca, a representative of Idom informed them that they are coming back to Bacolod next month, he added.*CGS

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