‘I CAN’T DO ANYTHING’: Treñas says Baronda had more power to help Mabilog

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said he felt powerless in clearing the name of former city mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, regarding Mabilog’s alleged links to illegal drugs.

In a press conference on Tuesday, August 27, Treñas suggested that the responsibility to assist Mabilog fell more on lone district Representative Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda, whom he described as a close ally of the Duterte family.

“How can I do anything at all when I am not close to the powers that be (Duterte), unlike Cong. Jamjam, who was very close to them,” Treñas said.

He clarified that his lack of action in Mabilog’s case was not due to fear but rather his “inaccessibility” to the country’s top officials and their allies.

“This isn’t out of fear, but because I had no access. I’ve become accustomed to fear—I was even detained when I was young. And I am ready to die,” Treñas explained.

At the time Duterte accused Mabilog of being involved in the illegal drug trade in 2016, Treñas was serving as Iloilo City’s congressman, while Baronda was the chief political officer of Senator JV Ejercito.

Treñas highlighted Baronda’s close relationship with the Duterte family, suggesting that it could have allowed her to provide more assistance to Mabilog.

Treñas emphasized that his difficult relationship with Duterte prevented him from taking significant steps to support Mabilog, noting that he was part of the opposition during the Duterte administration.

“How could I help when I was also being targeted by Duterte? I was caught in a difficult position,” he added.

Treñas also recalled that Duterte’s party, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), did not provide him with a Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) when he ran for mayor in the 2019 elections.

Although Treñas was appointed as council president of PDP-Laban for Iloilo City in 2018, he ran for city mayor under the National Unity Party in 2019.