Bayawan

Bayawan, after meeting all of its requirements for its cityhood, became a city on December 23, 2000, via plebiscite that was set by COMELEC.

Bayawan is politically subdivided into 28 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Kalumboyan was formerly a sitio of Nangka, while Balabag was a sitio of Manihihon. They were converted into barrios in 1955.[7]

As of 2000 the city had 645.23 km of roads; 6.26% of which are National Roads; 19.41% are Provincial Roads; 1.79% are City Roads/Streets; and majority of which is 72.54% are Barangay Roads. Moreover, of the total road length only 5.75% are concrete roads and 2.81% asphalt roads. Of the unpaved roads, only 105 kilometers are gravel roads and the remaining 75.16% or 485 kilometers are earth fill roads. This translates that most of the roads especially the barangay roads in the upland barangays are not passable during bad weather conditions. The road situation affected for the residents in the hinterlands and the farmers have to shoulder very high cost of transporting their products.

The improvement of road infrastructure of the city especially the provincial road that connects the City Proper, Kalumboyan and Manduao to the City of Kabankalan in Negros Occidental is deemed to open up a new dimension in the economic and social activity of the city. The improvement of the city's transport route to Mabinay and towards the Cities of Tanjay and Bais is recently seen to be apparent.

There are 13 bridges with a total length of 494.95 meters that provide passengers over the different rivers or creeks in the city. Ten of these bridges are made of reinforced concrete, having a total length of 287.15 meters. Among these, seven with a total length of 277.85 meters are classified as National bridges and two with total length of 9.3 meters as Barangay. One is made of reinforced concrete with steel frame with a length of 175.7 meters and classified as National. Two (2) Barangay bridges with a total length of 32.1 meters are made of wood with steel bracing for pedestrian use.

One bridge (Milagrosa Bridge) located in Sitio Milagrosa Barangay Nangka is totally damaged. It is to be converted into a spillway.

Hugno Footbridge is a proposed bridge located in Hugno, Barangay Nangka.

There are 52 spillways present in different Barangays. Only 18 spillways were in excellent condition. Fourteen need improvement, repair, and to be developed. Two to be replaced with a bridge, seven need to be replaced, three were proposed, six to be re-constructed, and two were damaged and needs re-construction.

Generally, the inland barangays only have Level I (developed source) water system or Level II (communal waterworks) have just been recently established in Barangay Tabuan through BIARSP which is 1.6 million project. Only Barangay Nangka and Kalumboyan have level III water system that only the bario proper is being served, when there are no waterworks in the area especially as in the case in sitios the usual water sources are dug wells or springs.

In this aspect, the city has formulated policies and work programs to address the water problems of the city. To address the needs in the barangay, water sources are assessed and projects are outlined such that potable water can be conveyed into every household. New water sources (such as the Danapa Spring in Nangka) are looked into for feasible development into a water supply infrastructure project so that the water needs of the city's households, industries and commercial sectors will be met.

Constructed wetland and septage management system in Bayawan

The city proper of Bayawan experiences flooding during rainy season. The existing sewerage/drainage system is still inadequate and unable to effectively drain rainwater especially during strong typhoons. A reinforced concrete wharf located in Barangay Ubos and Suba along the Bayawan River, having a length of 326 meters served as a flood control structure. This structure is to hold the water especially during high tides and strong typhoons from coming/ flowing into the City Proper. This flood control mechanism however also needs improvement especially that the carrying capacity of the Bayawan River has been immensely reduced from its siltation.

Along the Coastal Margin (Pagatban, Malabugas, Banga and Villareal) and even in the upland barangays with low-lying built-up areas (such Minaba, Kalumboyan and Tabuan), flooding is also a perennial issue since there are no established drainage infrastructure projects in these barangays.

Identified short-term solutions of flooding include the proper maintenance and repair of existing infrastructure and the expansion of construction projects. Well-thought of, effective and efficient drainage design and work programs are yet to be created. The long-term solution will include the effective rehabilitation of the watershed areas, reforestation, ripropping of riverbanks and maintenance of river easements such that soil erosion and subsequent siltation of the rivers will be reduced if not eliminated. This entails long-term integrated (multi-sectoral) and environment-focused planning, sound policy-making, strong political will and support, effective law enforcement, and vigilant monitoring.

Various command irrigation projects are now being implemented by the National Irragation Authority (NIA). Among these are the Tabuan Communal Irrigation Project (CIP), Mantapi CIP and the upper/ lower Malabugas CIP of which the LGU have provided a Php 1 million equity per projects. Moreover, the LGU have allocated Php 22.02 million as counterpart for the proposed Bayawan CIP which has a total project cost of Php 130.47 million. The Bayawan CIP is among the priority projects of the 10 year Bayawan Urban Infrastructure Development Plan.

Making cities safe from disaster is everybody's business. Equally Bayawan in its crossroad of development, being efficient and effective not only through environmental management, administrative processes, infrastructure and business, but particularly on disaster preparedness. With the increase in localized disasters has necessitated a corresponding increase in disaster preparedness and response capacity at the community and local government levels. The presence of early warning systems (LFEWS) linked to the Disaster Risk Reduction to provide accurate and timely advice to Barangay emergency response organizations.

The source of power of the city is the Palinpinon Geothermal Power Plant and is delivered through the Negros Oriental II Electric Cooperative (NORECO II). In spite of the relatively close proximity of the city to and abundance of the power source, only 16.64% of the total number of households in the whole city are energized. Most of the households served are located in the urban areas. At present, NORECO II have served 4,106 household out of a potential 18,623 subscribers in the city. The energized household are those of the urban barangays and some rural barangays namely Malabugas, Pagatban, Nangka, San Roque, San Miguel, Minaba Tayawan, Tabuan, Dawis, Kalumboyan, Ali-is, Narra.

The low level of energization in the city can be directly attributed to the existing road conditions. It follows that the unfavorable road conditions make the installation of power infrastructures difficult. Besides, the current standard of living of the people in the hinterlands (which is way below the poverty level) does not provide an encouraging market for the electric Service provider. The low energization level of the City does not require much solution on finding of power sources or the installation of electrical infrastructures but more on improving the road conditions and finding socio-economic solutions.

The city has telephone services, cellular mobile telephone services, wireless local coop services, satellite communication, print media, broadcast media (radio), telegraph/ telegram, postal services and fast courier delivery services provided for the public. The onset of fast and modern communication facilities resulted to the gradual phase-out of the traditional means of communication in the city.

Telecommunications in the city is along the current trends although more expansion and promotion is needed. The city has three telephone service companies: PLDT, Cruztelco and Globe Telecom. Cruztelco being the pioneer telephone company in the city has 400 lines installed and have an existing 131 subscribers. PLDT has 1,200 cables installed and an existing 616 subscribers and 122 potential subscribers with pending application. A cell site of Smart Communications is also in operation. National and provincial dailies and periodicals are delivered and available in the city. Also, the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Bayawan circulates copies of GABAYAN, an official newsletter of the city, every quarter. Radio and Television are the broadcast media available in the city. Radio Natin has broadcast coverage up to the Municipalities of Santa Catalina, Basay, Pamplona, and Siaton. Television cable networks E & E Cable TV and Fil Products Cable TV operates in the city. Broadband internet access is also widely available from numerous internet cafes within the city proper. DOTC public calling stations exist in Barangay Nangka, Maninihon, San Roque and Dawis.

There are two Housing Projects owned by private developers—with an expected total units of 663 houses. The LGU has begun implementing low cost housing projects, starting with Fishermen's Village in Tawi-Tawi. Resettlement areas will be provided for the Informal Settlers within the urban area.