‘HOPE AND STRENGTH’: Mayor touts Bayanihan spirit in state of city address

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas pushed “hope and strength” to the center of the city’s continuing bout with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during his State of the City Address (SOCA) on July 31, 2021.

Treñas’ latest SOCA is the second amid the COVID-19 pandemic and was pre-recorded for broadcast via his personal and the city government Facebook pages.

The 53-minute video featured his administration’s accomplishments amid the global health crisis, including pandemic-related assistance programs, infrastructure projects, and accolades garnered between 2020 and 2021.

Treñas admitted that the Enhanced Community Quarantines (ECQ) imposed on the city in March to May 2020, and on July 16 is the biggest challenge the city has faced.

But he said that his previous experience as mayor (2001-2010) and as representative of the city’s lone district (2010-2019) has helped him to prepare for the current crisis.

He also cited his leadership experience from his high school days to his participation in the Philippine Democratic Socialist Party (PDSP) during the Marcos dictatorship where he was arrested and detained.

“Because of my experience in the [Iloilo City government] before, and my experience in the House of Representatives, I think it has prepared me to a certain extent to face a huge crisis like this. What keeps me going [is that] I have always desired to serve. (sic) I also attribute the kind of governance that I have to my fighting spirit. I never say die, I never stop fighting, and probably and hopefully I will keep fighting,” the mayor said in an interview as part of his SOCA.

Similar to last year, his main SOCA speech delved on the devastating effects of the pandemic to the city’s health and economic sectors.

But he reminded the public that hope and strength kept the city going.

“As we continue to fight with this unseen enemy that recurrently gives us immense stress, we are reminded of prevailing virtues of hope and strength as Ilonggos. Hope that things will get better, and strength to hold on until it is over,” Treñas said.

He highlighted the programs and projects he implemented amid the current pandemic to help Ilonggos and other city workers and residents affected by COVID-19.

Data cited in the SOCA indicated that the city has distributed to 180 barangays 357,600 canned goods, 107,000 packed noodles, 6,187 sacks of rice that were procured or donated, as well as vegetables from the JPT Edicsape community garden program.

The city government also operated the USWAG Community Kitchen to provide meals to affected workers as well as COVID cases quarantined in designated isolation facilities.

Financial assistance was also given through the city government to 7,480 workers via the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.

135 families affected by disasters occurring during the pandemic, including fires and storms, were also provided financial assistance.

Other assistance provided by the city government during the pandemic were 259 laptops for teachers, 125 bicycles for medical frontliners, and 3 vehicles for the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), 2 Jack Russell Terrier for the Explosive Ordinance Division (EOD), and 8 units of 4×4 vehicles, all for the city’s police force.

Programs for displaced Ilonggo artists were also conducted through the pandemic, including the first-ever digital iterations of the annual Dinagyang and Paraw Regatta festivals, and busking sessions in malls.

“As we go on with our acts of Bayanihan through various initiatives to help communities, we are reminded of the weight of humanity, and how everything is interconnected. As the implications of our actions greatly affect our sense of hope and strength to see the silver lining even in the face of adversity, the situation has given us an opportunity to empathize with others and lend a helping hand in ways we can,” Treñas said.

The mayor also highlighted how the spirit of hope emerged through the volunteerism of various public and private sector members from within and outside of the city.

Part of its help to city hospitals were the augmentation of 12 nurses, 33 nursing aide, and 10 utility workers, until they were pulled out to then help with COVID vaccination efforts.

“The past months have given us clear narratives of how hope emerged through volunteerism and giving back to the community. Those who have abundance have more to give, and those who have less draw hope from the help of others. May we all remember our individual roles in this fight against the pandemic.”

He closed his SOCA by highlighting the Filipino ‘Bayanihan’ trait in the ongoing battle against the pandemic and moving forward to a post-pandemic scenario.

As shown during the virtual program, the city government earmarked P30 million to acquire COVID vaccines, including 600,000 doses from British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca and 145,000 doses from American biotechnology company Novavax.

The mayor added that several doses of Coronavac made by Chinese biotech firm Sinovac will arrive by second week of August.

The city also put up seven COVID vaccination sites in schools and malls, and has started vaccination in barangay covered courts and in-home vaccinations for senior citizens and persons with comorbidities.

Based on the City Health Office’s report as of July 27, a total of 73,174 individuals, or 16.26 percent of its target 450,000, have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The mayor also said that 85 percent of the target population has to be fully vaccinated to reach herd immunity against the “more infectious” Delta variant and other COVID variants.

As to the city’s economic recovery, he mentioned that the city council recently approved a 3-year tax holiday (Real Property and business taxes) for business investments located along three major roads (Circumferential, Radial, and Coastal Roads) within that period.

“Let us all make our Bayanihan spirit a pillar in which humanity is built. My fellow Ilonggos, it is only when we have hope in our hearts that we can have enough strength to continue fighting. This pandemic may have cancelled so many things in our life, but our fight against it, our determination, our hope, our strength are never cancelled,” he said.