A clash of allies in Iloilo City?

By Herbert Vego

AS I was writing this yesterday – first day of filing of certificate of candidacy (COC) for election 2025 – Iloilo City was abuzz with speculations that former mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog would sever political alliance with Mayor Jerry Treñas. In other words, they would fight each other for the city “throne”.

In that case, he would run in tandem with re-electionist congresswoman Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda, whose position is being eyed by Treñas’ daughter, Raisa.

I recall that the first time Jed and Jam ran as a team was in 2016.  While re-electionist Mayor Jed won against Marigold Gonzalez, Jam lost to Jose Espinosa III for vice mayor.

In 2019, Baronda allied with Treñas.  They won together for congresswoman and mayor, respectively.

What is ironic is that, unless she changes her mind, this time she would be defending her post against the mayor’s daughter. Thus, she would have to team up with another mayoralty candidate. She wishes and hopes it would be Mabilog, whose body language suggests an inclination to transform her wish into reality.

So far, as I was writing this, nobody has advanced to be recognized as a probable mayoralty candidate against the incumbent.

In fact, all four – Jerry, Raisa, Jed and Jam – are said to be waiting for the last day of COC-filing on October 8 before filing their COCs.

To run or not to run?  That is the question for which they need an answer “galing sa ita-as.”

Meanwhile, I now doubt my previous guess that Jed would not run for any position in order to preserve his good relation with Treñas. Given his seven-year self-exile abroad, naturally, nahidlaw man sia sa poder.

On the other hand, Jed and Jam have a distant past to look back to – their “kumbinsing” partnership as ad models for Mang Inasal.

-oOo-

MORE POWER CEO VISITS TAGBILARAN CITY

ROEL Z. CASTRO, president and chief executive officer of MORE Power, Iloilo City’s distribution utility, recently paid a visit to the offices of Bohol Light Company (BLCI) in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

Accompanied by top-level managers of MORE Power, Castro focused on gaining insights into various aspects of BLCI’s operations, including customer care services, network operations, energy sourcing, asset management, human resources, billing processes, and financial performance.

Castro is also the president of Primelectric (a subsidiary of MORE), which has acquired a 70 percent stake of Bohol Light Company Inc. (BLCI) from the Salcon family. The provincial government of Bohol retains its 30% share.

Primelectric, mainly owned by billionaire Enrique K. Razon, is slated to take over the operation of Bohol Light within this month of October with an infusion of fresh capital, at least one billion pesos, into its rehabilitation and modernization.

I am sure that is not a boast.  As Castro was telling this writer, MORE Power has already invested nearly P3 billion for its five-year modernization. Thus, system losses have decreased from 30 percent to an average of 5 percent; the consumer base surged from 62,000 to 95,000, and instances of unscheduled power interruptions reduced to acceptable standards.

Castro said that his Tagbilaran visit would gather important information that would serve as Bohol Light’s basis for developing more effective and efficient customer service strategies.

As a distribution utility, Bohol Light has established a track record of maintaining the lowest distribution rates in Bohol, with remarkably few exceptions. It has expanded and upgraded its facilities, such as the 20-MVA Substation, which is one of its kind in the province in terms of innovation and mobility. Its reliability performance rating is consistently categorized as Level A.

Prior to it acquisition of Bohol Light, Primelectric had inked a joint venture agreement with Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) —  serving Bacolod, Silay, Bago, Talisay, and the municipalities of Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto – and also secured the congressional franchise for the new company, Negros Electric and Power Corporation (NEPC).