Superficial growth in the “Super City”

Businessman and Bacolod City mayor Albee Benitez is resolute in his ambition to turn Bacolod City into a “Super City,” a move which embeds the city deeper within the framework of aggressive neoliberal policies.

Last year, the declaration of Bacolod City as “insurgency-free” through the Regional Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Council (RJPSCC)-Western Visayas played a pivotal role. This announcement seems strategically intertwined with their efforts to craft an illusion of a “peaceful” city, aimed at attracting big capital.

Amidst this grand vision is a stark reality: the plight of thousands of jeepney drivers, urban poor, fisherfolk, and the broad basic masses is left behind in the relentless pursuit of “progress” tailored for foreign capital, big comprador bourgeoisie, and landlords.

In the eyes of neoliberalism, basic services for the people are handed over to the hands of big business. In Bacolod City, Albee Benitez expedited the privatization of key services—evident in the sudden endorsement of a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc. (CENECO) and the Razon-owned MORE Power on July 3, 2023.

This decision triggered outrage and protests of consumers. Due to the desperation to gain huge profits if the control of power services is already in their hands, MORE Power maneuvered the plebiscite and votes.

Presently, the Senate has approved the bill permitting the franchise of Negros Electric Power and Corporation (NEPC), the joint venture between MORE Power and CENECO. It is expected that upon the implementation of this privatization, 420 workers will be laid-off. This is similar to what previously happened to Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA) that resulted to the unjust termination of 57 employees.

It has already been almost four years since the Villars assumed control of BACIWA through Prime Water. Consumers remain dissatisfied due to recurring issues such as tainted water and poor service quality. Furthermore, despite a ruling of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Region 6 in favor of reinstatment of the terminated workers, the Villars never acknowledged the decision.

The national thrust to phase out traditional jeepneys through forced consolidation of individual franchises affects over 2,500 drivers in Bacolod City. Through City Ordinance 966 or the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP), the “one route, one franchise” will be implemented, which favors corporations or cooperatives capable of owning 15 modern jeepney units or more.

Bert, a driver of 22 years, fears for the future of his family of five. He has only attained a high school education and he does not know what to do when traditional jeepneys is phased out.

“It is clear to me that the development claimed by Mayor is only for his friends, not for us poor people,” Bert said.

Another flagship program of Mayor Benitez is the Yuhum Village in Brgy. 8, and barangays Vista Alegre and Banago which are part of the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino (4PH) program of Marcos Jr. Yuhum Village is being hailed as a significant step by the reactionary government, which plans to turn over 300 housing units this year.

“What are we to do with the housing offered by Albee when we cannot even afford the monthly rent. Our daily income is not enough for our food,” Bebot, a fish vendor with five children from Brgy. Banago, said. Initial survey by the LGU for the housing project sets a monthly rental fee of ₱2,500 for each unit.

Bebot’s house is among the 22 homes to be first displaced in the impending thousand-hectare reclamation project in Brgy. Banago’s coastline, which is prospected to be developed as an international port and business centers. Bebot’s husband is one of the more than 2,000 fisherfolks who will lose their livelihood.

Thus, it is essential to note that Mayor Albee’s vision of a “Super City” is a promise spoken by a bureaucrat capitalist hailing from a family enriched by Marcos cronyism. In reality, his vision entails sacrificing both the city and its residents on the altar of corporate greed.

And if the broad masses oppose such policies, reactionary government ideologues would accuse them of opposing “progress.” But there can never be genuine progress under the current semicolonial and semifeudal system. Such reality affirms the urgency and correctness of our call for national industrialization. Genuine progress can only be attained when the toiling masses, rather than foreign corporations and their local compradors, are the ones who take charge how resources are utilized to meet the needs of the people.