‘PAY US A VISIT’: Baronda accepts office assignment, urges Treñas to visit legislative bldg

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Iloilo City Vice Mayor Julie Grace “Love-Love” Baronda has accepted her office assignment in the legislative building but urged Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu to personally inspect the current office allocations.

“The mayor has not yet visited the legislative building. Maybe she can visit soon so she can witness our situation,” Baronda said in an interview late Thursday afternoon, July 3.

A July 2 memorandum, which amended an earlier directive from June 11, confirmed that the sixth floor was assigned to the Vice Mayor’s Office, the Sangguniang Panlungsod Secretariat, and the storage of office supplies.

As part of the changes, the SP archive and library were moved to the seventh floor to make room for the new setup.

Baronda had earlier insisted that the building, being named a legislative building, should be used exclusively by the legislative branch.

However, Treñas-Chu maintained that she has the authority to assign office spaces under Section 455 (b)(1)(ix) of the Local Government Code of 1991.

“I acknowledge her authority to allocate office spaces as the chief executive. I respect and honor that. However, what’s questionable to me is how this authority has been exercised,” Baronda said.

She said she met with the SP staff—comprising six departments and over 80 personnel—who raised concerns over limited office space.

After reviewing the July 2 memorandum, Baronda said the SP has been directed to gradually move into the assigned areas to evaluate whether more space is needed.

“We’ll see what we can do in the next two days in the limited space that we have,” she added.

LEGISLATIVE OR MULTI-PURPOSE?

The debate has shifted beyond space assignments to the identity of the building itself: is it a legislative or a multi-purpose facility?

Treñas-Chu’s July 2 memo referred to the structure as a “multi-purpose building,” contrasting with the June 11 memo of her father, former mayor Jerry Treñas, which identified it explicitly as a legislative building.

“All the while, the public knew this is a legislative building. It is just surprising that in the recent letter, it was already labeled as a multi-purpose building,” Baronda said.

In a statement Thursday night, Treñas-Chu said the facility is officially titled “Multi-Purpose Building for Office: Ker & Company Site,” based on Resolution No. 2021-1010 and reflected in Supplemental Budget No. 3, CY-2019.

“While the legislative branch is among the primary occupants, the title and purpose of the structure clearly indicate that it is intended as a multi-purpose government facility that is part of Iloilo City Hall – not solely for legislative use,” she said.

Resolution No. 2021-1010 acknowledges and adopts the title “Design and Build for the Construction of an Eight-Storey Legislative Building at KER Compound, Iloilo City (Bid No. 20-175)” as the same project described as “Construction of Multi-Purpose Building for Office: KER & Company Site” in the 2019 supplemental budget.

Baronda, then a councilor serving her final term, motioned for the passage of the resolution.

She explained that the resolution reconciled the project’s budget allocation with the construction contract and bidding documents.

“When we passed the supplemental budget, what was written in the budget was a multi-purpose building,” she said.

“With that, the finance committee and the city legal office had to cure that discrepancy, which led to the resolution stating that the supplemental budget for the multi-purpose building is actually for the legislative building,” she added.

The City Council also passed Resolution No. 2021-1011, expressing no objection to the plan to construct an eight-storey legislative building.

Both resolutions were approved on December 7, 2021.

During the building’s inauguration on June 27, the official marker identified it as the “Iloilo City Legislative Building.”

The event was led by former mayor Jerry Treñas, Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, Councilor Miguel Treñas, and five other members of the 11th City Council.