By Joseph B.A. Marzan and Jennifer P. Rendon
Almost all members of Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas’ Team Uswag filed their certificates of candidacy (COC) with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Wednesday.
But instead of the usual pomp and pageantry that usher in the election season, it was a rather subdued event for the ruling party because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Team Uswag filed their candidacies through their authorized proxy, City Administrator Melchor Tan.
The slate is headed by Treñas and re-electionists Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon and lone district Rep. Julienne Baronda.
As expected, their 12-person city council slate included 6 incumbents and 6 “new” names:
- Councilor Romel Duron;
- Councilor Ely Estante;
- Councilor Rudolf Ganzon;
- Councilor Carlos Javellana;
- Councilor Frances Grace Parcon;
- Councilor Alan Zaldivar;
- Urminico Baronda;
- Sedfrey Cabaluna;
- Capt. John Eric David;
- Rex Marcus Sarabia;
- Miguel Treñas, the mayor’s son; and
- businessman Johnny Young
The slate will run under the banner of the National Unity Party and their newly-established regional party, Uswag Ilonggo Party.
While Tan was filing the COCs, the entire slate attended a mass at the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Parish in La Paz district.
Treñas told Daily Guardian that their main priority in the election is to continue the health-based response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
The city government has already started developing a 66-bed modular hospital in Barangay Sooc in Arevalo district and will soon kickoff another in the same barangay.
The building of these modular hospitals will usher the construction of the Uswag Hospital at Brgy. San Pedro in Molo district.
Treñas added that dialysis centers may also open this month in Brgy. East Baluarte in Molo.
He also touted the city’s COVID vaccination, which he says was one of the highest in the nation, as well as the ready stock of medicines for mild, severe, and moderate COVID-19 patients.
Data from the Department of Health-Western Visayas Center for Health Development (DOH-WV CHD) showed that Iloilo City has already vaccinated 75.96 percent of its projected population as of Oct. 4.
“We are really needing with our health. That is why we are pushing with our modular hospital even if it would be difficult and our own Uswag Hospital at the end of it. We need vaccination, we need to empower our district health centers, that’s why they each have ambulances now. We have sufficient medicines so far when needed for COVID positive with mild, severe, or moderate cases because those are actually expensive,” Treñas said in a phone call.
As to law enforcement, the mayor also says that they will continue to build more Iloilo City Action and Response (ICARE) centers across the city.
Constructions of ICARE centers are currently being completed in Brgy. Calumpang in Molo, Brgy. Sooc in Arevalo, and Brgy. San Isidro in Jaro. Usufruct deals have also been inked in Brgy. Ungka, Jaro and Brgy. Nabitasan, La Paz.
These centers will contain all emergency services including police, fire, and ambulance officers and resources.
POLITICAL DYNASTIES
Treñas also addressed the topic of political dynasties in the city.
The mayor’s son Miguel is vying for a seat in the city legislature, as his cousin Jose Efrain III will finish his third term in 2022.
Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon and his son Rudolf will run for re-election for their respective second terms. The father is running for his second full term after assuming the post in 2017 replacing then vice mayor Jose Espinosa III who was appointed mayor.
Dr. Urminico Baronda joins his daughter Julienne in Team Uswag, and will seek to replace in the city council another daughter, Lady Julie Grace, who is also term-limited.
Treñas said that while there is still no law banning political dynasties, it would depend on the people in accepting the candidates sharing last names. He cited other political families in Iloilo province as examples.
“Right now, we do not have any law, but if you look at the province, the Garins, the Defensors, the Birons, and the Tupases are all there. I think the acceptability depends on the person,” the mayor said.
FAIR, HONEST POLLS
Apart from asking for Divine Providence in their goals to serve and lead Iloilo City better, Treñas said the mass was also offered for the conduct of a fair and honest May 2022 elections.
“When I was 15, I had a vision, a dreamt of a progressive metro the Ilonggos will be proud of. For the past decades, I was privileged to work on this dream, and I will continue to do so as long as my people trust and support me,” Treñas said in a Facebook post.
A survey conducted by Random Access Consultants, Inc. (RACI) on September 22, 2021 showed that the triumvirate of Treñas, Baronda and Ganzon are the top choices of voters at that time.
With 600 respondents, the survey result showed 86.2 percent (9 out of 10 respondents) choosing Treñas over two probable rivals – former mayor Joe Espinosa III (6.8 percent) and former councilor Joshua Alim (6.2 percent).
Baronda was the choice of 56.2 percent (6 in 10) of the respondents over three probable opponents.
Former councilor Lex Tupas got 17 percent, Alim got 15.3 percent, and Espinosa with 10.3 percent.
If the race is narrowed down between Espinosa and Baronda, 19 percent were for the former mayor while 72 percent of the respondents chose the latter.
The three top officials were also the choices of majority of respondents in both male and female and across all educational levels, age groups, socio-economic classes, and city districts.
