By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan
The ongoing political rift between Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas and Iloilo City Lone District Representative Julienne “Jam” Baronda deepened as two Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects in the city remain unfinished and uninhabitable despite the issuance of necessary permits.
In a February 18 letter to Treñas, Office of the Building Official (OBO) head Mavi Gustilo confirmed that building permits had already been issued for the multi-purpose hall projects in Barangay Concepcion, City Proper, and Barangay Katilingban, Molo.
Gustilo noted that Phase 1 of the projects was completed on April 8, 2024, for Concepcion and April 30, 2022, for Katilingban, while the building permits were issued on August 9, 2024, and February 7, 2025, respectively.
She also pointed out that Certificates of Completion were issued even before the actual building permits.
The building permit application for the Concepcion multi-purpose hall was submitted only on May 27, 2024, while the Katilingban hall application was initially filed on August 10, 2022, and refiled on August 7, 2024.
“It is important to note that while the projects cited may involve several phases as per their respective contracts or programs of work, only one building permit is issued for the entire structure, which may encompass several project phases,” Gustilo said in her letter.
“Notably, both projects were issued certificates of completion even before officially applying for and receiving their respective building permits. Typically, the processing of relevant permits for a particular DPWH project is included as a pay item in the contracts awarded to contractors,” she added.
Despite the issuance of permits, Gustilo said the projects remain incomplete and uninhabitable.
“The current state of the two projects, as shown in the pictures, indicates that they are uninhabitable. Accordingly, no certificate of occupancy can be issued for end-user use, as no such application has been submitted to this office to date,” the letter stated.
Treñas and his spokesperson, Joy Fantilaga, have yet to respond to inquiries on their next steps following Gustilo’s letter.
Meanwhile, Concepcion village chief Madonna Martin on February 17 admitted to putting up four hand-painted signs at the project site, calling out Baronda over the unfinished multi-purpose hall.
The signs read:
“Cong. Jam, ano na?” (Cong. Jam, what now?)
“Kap, ti ano na ni?” (Captain, what is this?)
“Cong. Jam, gin kwaan mo kami kalipayan, diin kami ma-basket?” (Cong. Jam, you took away our happiness, where are we going to play basketball?)
“Cong. Jam, sang 2021 pa ni, san-o taposon ang gym?” (Cong. Jam, this started in 2021, when will the gym be finished?)
Speaking to Aksyon Radyo Iloilo on February 18, Martin said she personally wrote the signs based on the sentiments of her constituents.
“I wrote it together with one of my barangay councilors. They cut up the cloth, and I did the writing. That’s what people in the barangay have been telling me, so that’s what I put down,” Martin said.
“From morning to evening, they would tell me, ‘When you look at that, it’s just standing there.’ What’s written on the signs is what I am being told,” she added.
Martin denied any political motivation behind the signs, saying they were meant to draw attention to the safety and security concerns of her barangay.
“That’s my will. I put that there myself so that it would be attended to. Why would I be ordered by the Treñas administration? I don’t need to be told because the administration doesn’t know what’s best for the barangay,” she said.
She emphasized that she was not taking sides in politics and only wanted the project to be completed.
“I’ve heard a lot of negative things against me or the administration. But what I can say, even if [Baronda] has no challengers, if this is her project and she continues it, then thank you. If others see what I did and allocate a national budget for this, then great. If not, I will ask the city government to continue the project,” she added.
Martin said she was shocked by the structure’s design, which was a closed space without any ventilation.
She had envisioned a two-story building with a mini-market for livelihood programs and a covered gym for the community.
“I went on vacation in the United States, and when I came back, I was surprised by how it looked. The building was standing, everything was closed. I thought it was storage for provisions or rice because it was a closed space with no windows,” she said.
‘BLACK PROPAGANDA’
In response, Baronda’s camp cited an August 8, 2024, memo from DPWH-Iloilo City District Engineering Office chief Roy Pacanan, which blamed the delays on the city government’s failure to issue building permits on time.
They dismissed the recent complaints as “black propaganda” against Baronda.
“City Hall itself should be blamed for the delays in finishing the multi-purpose building projects in Barangay Katilingban, Molo, and Barangay Concepcion, City Proper, which have been used in black propaganda to smear the name of [Baronda] who pushed for these projects,” their statement read.
Baronda’s camp also pointed out that funding has been earmarked in Republic Act No. 12116 (General Appropriations Act of 2025) for the next phase of the two buildings.
