Baronda, insincere over ‘back-out’?

By Herbert Vego

DID Iloilo City Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda really mean what she told Mayor Jerry Treñas?  That she would not run for re-election in 2025 in order to give way to his daughter Raisa Treñas-Chu?

If she were truthful, I guess she would either quit politics or run against the mayor. Another possibility is that the mayor, too, would no longer run for re-election to give way to Baronda and thus preserve their political unity.

That possibility is now remote, considering the way the mayor has relieved the congresswoman’s relatives of appointive positions at City Hall.

Sayang na sayang talaga. The two ladies, Jamjam and Raisa, used to be bosom friends. Their Facebook pages show them always hugging each other.

With six months more to go before the October filing of certificates of candidacy, it is still too early whether a Treñas-Baronda encounter would spell the end of their unity, or preserve itself another way.

The popular view among the Maritesses is that Jamjam would change her mind and defend her House seat against challenger Raisa; and Mayor Jerry would run for his third and final term against whomever Jamjam would team up with.

A minor opinion is that it would all depend on the result of the survey to be commissioned by the mayor.  Kon wala padaog si Raisa, why would she push her luck? But that’s going ahead of the story.

At present, their fight revolves around the question: Whom will the Marcoses bless?

You see, both the mayor and the congresswoman are now going gaga about joining President Marcos’ ruling party, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), believing it would be a blessing to the favored.

There goes the unfolding suspense. The scheduled mass oath-taking to PFP of Western Visayas’ politicians, originally scheduled on April 10, has been postponed to an indefinite date.

It is interesting to note that two days earlier, April 8, Baronda had showed up in Bacolod City to meet visiting Pres. Marcos. Earlier (April 3), she had also been photographed talking to First Lady Liza in Malacañang.

The President, of course, would “win” if he welcomes both the Barondas and the Treñases to his Federal corral in a “sona libre”.

Anyway, as far as Iloilo City is concerned, being with the ruling party does not count. Remember, both the mayor and the congresswoman had identified themselves with opposition presidential candidate Leni Robredo, not Bongbong Marcos, in 2022.

-oOo-

MORE POWER EMPLOYEES LEARN FIREFIGHTING

DOES hot, dry weather cause fire?

According to our friends at the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), the combination of intense heat and prolonged drought only sets the stage for fires to start more easily. Dry grass cannot catch on fire from the sun alone; it requires a spark – from a cigarette or live wire, for example — to ignite it.

No wonder houses made from light materials are prone to fire. And this is often reported not only to fire stations but also to the offices of distribution utilities.

That’s why MORE Power, as Iloilo City’s distribution utility, has started training its employees in fire safety awareness and actual firefighting. Kudos to company President Roel Castro for having Priam Roy Rivera as their safety officer.

Rivera, in a tri-media interview, said, “We conduct activities like fire simulations where we teach our employees and contractors how to use fire extinguishers. We also prepare them to use tools and equipment.”

MORE Power regularly holds fire simulation exercises from the main office to field offices and substations. The employees thus become well-versed in emergency measures to immediately implement Priam Roy Rivera, Safety Officer of MORE Power.

We don’t have to shout “More practice” to them.