BACOLOD CITY – Mayor Albee Benitez has sought inputs and expertise of various stakeholders as he unveiled the master plan of this city during a public consultation at the L’Fisher Hotel here on Friday, Nov. 22.
"We want to ensure that our master plan to become a super city involves the participation of all stakeholders,” Benitez said as he presented the super city roadmap to more than 1,000 participants.
MAYOR Albee Benitez unveils the master plan of Bacolod City during a public consultation with stakeholders at the L’Fisher Hotel on Friday, Nov. 22. (Glazyl Masculino)
The mayor outlined five pillars implemented under his administration to ensure a better quality of life for the people of this city – effective governance (innovations), vibrant and diversified economy (inclusivity), environmental security (sustainability), social development and protection (mobility), and smart and green urban centers (culture).
Benitez noted the city’s shift to digitalization in which QR codes are now being used for identification cards of senior citizens and Persons with Disabilities and contactless transactions of government documents as well as the establishment of one stop shops in satellite offices.
He also cited the city’s implementation of the “Bayad Agad” policy which aims to fast-track the release of medical and burial assistance for residents here.
Benitez announced some infrastructure projects which include the ongoing constructions of the legislative building, City Health Complex, the Bacolod City Hall, Bacolod City Eco Tree Park, Multipurpose Building with Skate Park, and the Bacolod Museum and Auditorium.
Benitez also highlighted township developments that will boost the local economy and generate more jobs for the people here.
He said that a command center featuring a more stabilized closed-circuit television network system is underway and the city has served more than 10,000 indigent patients through the Bacolod Comprehensive Health Program.
Benitez said that the city has created green lanes for electric public utility vehicles (PUVs) and plans to put up floodgates and pumping stations in five major rivers to mitigate flooding.
He said that the city needs to solicit proposals, ideas, and get a conceptual nod from the stakeholders to ensure that the master plan conforms to what they would like to do.
“This is the platform for them to be able to make any proposal for the city's master plan," he added.