By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD CITY – Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo “Albee” Benitez announced that a section of Lacson Street, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, will showcase underground cabling by May next year.
Benitez made the announcement amid criticism over delays in fulfilling his pledge to clear major areas of the city from unsightly “spaghetti wires.”
The most recent criticism came from a social media post by former Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who shared a vlog featuring himself eating spaghetti with the caption, “Wow, spaghetti, gagomon, kaon ta” (Wow, spaghetti, let’s eat).
When asked about his reaction to the criticism, Benitez dismissed the issue, stating, “What we are doing right now is we have a vision, we have a direction where to go.”
He added that the public could already see the direction of his administration’s plans.
Benitez emphasized, “In fact, I appreciate the media’s attention to all the programs we have announced. This is what we want—to have the media guide us in achieving our goals.”
He further expressed his hope that the media would “closely monitor” the city’s progress to ensure that the administration implements its promises.
“The biggest advantage now is we know where we are heading,” Benitez said.
Regarding the “spaghetti wires” across various parts of the city, Benitez noted that, despite the large volume of cables collected during clearing operations, the wires remain an eyesore.
“We are moving forward to bring these wires underground,” Benitez stated.
He added that he is coordinating with telecommunications companies (Telcos) and Negros Power, the city’s power distribution utility, to advance the project.
“This time, our underground project will include Negros Power,” Benitez said.
He explained that the underground design would accommodate both Telco and power cables, although each would have separate conduits. “We are just finalizing the design and are set to meet within the week. A portion of Lacson Street will definitely go underground before May next year,” Benitez said.
