City Hall Dismayed Over DPWH-Iloilo City Snub

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas expressed disappointment on Friday, March 7, 2025, after the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Iloilo City District Engineering Office (ICDEO) declined to attend a meeting set by the city government.

Treñas requested DPWH-Western Visayas Regional Director Sanny Boy Oropel to provide documents proving that sufficient funds are available for unfinished infrastructure projects under the ICDEO’s jurisdiction.

This came after a March 6 letter from ICDEO informed Treñas that they would not attend the March 7 meeting, following a publicized letter from City Administrator Melchor Tan detailing the agenda.

“The paramount intent of the said clarificatory meeting is to inquire from the Iloilo City District Engineering Office the funding, sources of the unfinished projects, and financial capacity of the agency to speedily complete these projects,” Treñas said in his March 7 letter.

“On multiple occasions, I have been stressing that the Iloilo City Government is willing to extend our assistance, to the best of our resources and capacity, within the bounds allowed by law, to ensure the speedy completion of these projects,” he added.

In a statement on his Facebook page, which included his letter to Oropel, Treñas criticized what he called “political posturing”, though he did not specify whom he was referring to.

“May funding bala para mapatapos ini nga mga proyekto? And if so, where is the funding sourced? This raises serious concerns that need clear and honest answers. […] What we need are concrete solutions — not political posturing. Kaluluoy guid ang mga pumuluyo who continue to endure the inconvenience caused by these delays, with barangays directly affected and progress stalled,” Treñas said.

Lawyer Manuel Magbanua, legal counsel for the Office of the Building Official (OBO), said the city government must first review the funding sources before determining where it can legally intervene.

“We need to look at the funding sources of these projects first. The city government cannot step in just like that if we don’t know [about] its roots and ends. We need the proper offices, especially the [OBO] or the City Engineer’s [Office], to check where we can step in. And then, the next [step] is that we really have to appropriate the necessary budgets for that to continue them,” Magbanua told the media on Friday.

He added that the city government may need to step in to prevent further risks to communities near the unfinished projects.

“If the national government project is not finished, then it is unusable, and if it is unusable, it will become hazardous in the long run. Time should really come that when the agency concerned would finish it, they should finish. If they don’t, then that would really be a problem,” he said.

Magbanua declined to comment on whether the city government would pursue legal action, stating that their focus remains on finding solutions to ensure the projects’ completion.

The conflict between the city government and ICDEO has been ongoing since last year, with the city repeatedly demanding the completion of key projects, including the Mandurriao Public Market and six barangay multi-purpose buildings.

ICDEO recently claimed that delays in securing local permits from the OBO stalled the construction of two multi-purpose buildings in Concepcion and Katilingban villages.

However, Magbanua refuted this, citing official documents from their office.

“We have checked the documents from [our] office, and I can say for certain [and] attest categorically that what [OIC District Engineer Roy] Pacanan said, that the delay is with the OBO, is false,” he stated.

Pacanan has refused to meet personally with Treñas or city officials after being declared persona non grata last year through an executive order and a Sangguniang Panglungsod resolution.