‘CANCELLED’ Treñas nixes ‘overpriced’ deals at City Hall

By: Emme Rose Santiagudo

ILOILO CITY Mayor Jerry Treñas’ first official act is to cancel all allegedly overpriced transactions in the City Hall.

This, he confirmed in a phone interview on Sunday.

“I have decided to cancel all purchases nga para sa aton daw allegedly overpriced and with proper consultation and legal opinion coming from the city legal and all the other agencies,” Treñas said.

He clarified that the purchases, especially of vehicles, will continue as long as there is no overpricing.

“Sigehun man naton gihapon kay kinahanglan sang salakyan but we will purchase nga husto lang. Tanan nga purchases nga tam-an ka taas, will be cancelled,” he said.

Treñas added that purchases that were already delivered will also be investigated.

The Treñas administration officially starts today, July 1, 2019.

A mass will be held at the San Jose De Placer Church in Plaza Libertad which will be followed by a flag ceremony, blessing of the offices of the City Hall, and the ceremonial tree planting.

According to Treñas, the tree planting activity, which is part of his “WHEELS” roadmap under Environmental Management, will be a regular and sustained tree effort.

“This is only part of our efforts to mitigate climate change. Nakita nga sang nagligad nga summer, grabe gid ka init and ang aton lang gid di mabulig, aside sa use sang renewable sources of energy kag iban pa like rainwater harvesting, amo ni ang pagtanom kahoy. Masyado ka hapos but it has to be sustained,” he said.

Treñas’ added that he already talked with the budget officer to allocate funds for the tree planting activity.

The mayor also mentioned his plan to put up a “Tree Park” in the metro.

“Gapangita pa kita sang lugar because ang ginapangayo sang Lopez group of Companies is between one to five hectares. I am still talking to other people with regards to the other land areas in the city,” he said.

After the tree planting activity, Treñas said he will meet with the finance committee of the city government.

“I will have a meeting with the finance committee para mag-istorya sa budget and also to meet the department heads. We have to find out the present finances in the city para we can move forward,” he said.

Recently, Treñas has announced through radio reports that he will investigate the alleged overpricing in the purchases of the Espinosa administration, particularly the vehicles, drone system, and other equipment.

Last week, the City Engineering Office clarified the controversial drone and its system, justifying that the P800,000 budget was not just limited to the drone but also includes other components, accessories, and trainings of personnel who will handle the equipment.

Meanwhile, Former Mayor Jose Espinosa III has denied overpriced purchases during his administration.

He has mentioned in a previous interview that he is open to any investigation.