Benitez-Bais spat puts Bacolod’s stalled P765-M project, flood contractor in focus

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NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – The October 16 public confrontation between Bacolod City Representative Albee Benitez and a city councilor has thrust the city’s unfinished P765-million legislative building into the spotlight, renewing scrutiny of a contractor caught up in the country’s flood control scandal.

The four-story building, with a helipad feature, remains unfinished more than a year past its expected completion date. The unfinished project stands behind the 18-year-old Bacolod City Government Center on Carlos Hilado Highway in Barangay Villamonte.

Right smack in the middle of the controversy is Legacy Construction Corporation, the contractor responsible for the delayed project. Owned by Negrense businessman Alex Abelido, the firm was among those named by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as one of the country’s top flood control contractors.

Data from the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” portal show that from 2022 to 2024, the construction firm flood control projects worth over P2.1 billion across Negros Occidental, including at least three in Bacolod City.

Many of its flood control projects failed to prevent flooding during a typhoon in 2025, raising questions about their effectiveness and the contractor’s performance.

Benitez’s apology

On Wednesday, October 21, Benitez apologized to the city and Councilor Homer Bais for his impulsive behavior in slamming a table at a dinner party in the lobby of the government center in front of the public on October 16.

On his Facebook page, he wrote: “Being a leader, dapat gid man ipakita ta nga we should control our emotion kag mangin mapa inubuson. Human as we are, kung kaisa indi ta gid mapunggan ang aton emosyon.”

(As a leader, we really need to show that we can control our emotions and be patient and humble. But human as we are, sometimes we just can’t help our emotions.)

He added: “Wala ako tuyo nga atong pag approach ko sa imo naka create sang kahuy-anan para sa imo. Indi amo na ang akon intention, but be that as it may, i am asking an apology, first sa pumoloyo sang Bacolod, and sa imo, Councilor Homer Bais.”

(It was never my intention to cause any embarrassment when I approached you. While that was not my objective, I nevertheless want to offer my sincere apologies, first to the citizens of Bacolod, and to you, Councilor Homer Bais.)

Bais accepted Benitez’s apology but stressed: “Let’s move on… because there’s no turning back.”

The spat between Bais and Benitez stemmed from the controversy surrounding the city’s loans.

Both are members of the local political party Team Asenso.

However, Bais said he was more determined than ever to do what he intended to do as soon as possible for the sake of the people of Bacolod.

It’s Legacy again

The legislative building project bagged by Legacy is one of 17 projects financed by a P4.171-billion loan the city government secured from the Development Bank of the Philippines when Benitez was mayor.

According to a joint committee report presented by Bacolod Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson during the regular city council session on Wednesday, the P765-million legislative building project was only 45.84% complete.

The project had an 18-month timeline from its groundbreaking on December 4, 2023, and was supposed to be completed in June 2025.

On Tuesday, October 20, Bacolod Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr. filed a resolution asking the Local Finance Committee, composed of the city treasurer, budget and accounting offices, to conduct a comprehensive review of all city loans obtained by the administrations of former mayors Evelio Leonardia and Benitez.

Gamboa’s proposed resolution was a reiteration of Resolution No. 867-26, which had almost the same purpose.

He co-sponsored the original resolution along with several of Benitez’s councilor allies, including Sayson, Caesar Distrito, Al Victor Espino, Israel Salanga and Em Ang.

Gamboa said the city council majority had blocked a similar resolution he proposed in July to call on the Commission on Audit (COA) to conduct a comprehensive audit of all projects listed under Leonardia’s P1.7-billion budget and Benitez’s budget, which, according to Sayson, was reduced from P4.4 billion to P4.171 billion.

“We want to get to the bottom of all these loans. Besides, the legislative building is now the talk of the town. When will it be finished? It’s a big project, and it’s just sitting there unfinished,” Gamboa said.

Only P2.414 billion, or 57.88% of the P4.171-billion loan obtained under Benitez’s administration, had been disbursed as of September 2026, the report said.

Unfinished projects

Of the 17 projects listed under the controversial loan, only three had reached 100% completion.

These included a P25-million traffic light system, a P171-million road network and a P10-million asphalt overlay.

Other unfinished projects and their corresponding fund utilization rates were:

• City motorpool, P30.8 million (52.80%)
• Solar power generating system, P100 million (83.75%)
• Land banking, P1.5 billion (91.87%)
• Drainage systems, P168.5 million (74.93%)
• City warehouse, P67.9 million (33.85%)
• Legislative building, P765 million (45.84%)
• Old city hall redevelopment, P413 million (49.47%)
• City Health Office complex, P280 million (14.99%)
• Animal shelter, P10 million (15%)

Projects with no fund utilization included:

• Furniture and equipment, P279 million
• Tree park, P62 million
• Pedestrian mall, P50 million
• Five mini-hospitals, P135 million
• Recycling complex and ecopark, P103 million

Gamboa told Rappler on Thursday, October 22, that members of the Local Finance Committee did not sign the report. 

Only Sayson and the chairpersons of the city council’s committee on laws, contracts and ordinances, and committee on assets management – all political allies of Benitez – did, Gamboa said.

He said the Local Finance Committee was created under the Local Government Code of 1991 to conduct a comprehensive check of all projects funded using local government loans and report to the council. 

“I want to see the signatures of the members on that joint committee report,” he said. – Rappler.com