‘SET THE HEARING’: Committee gatekeeping stalls 13 Baronda measures in Iloilo City

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY — Vice Mayor Julie Grace “Love-Love” Baronda has blamed majority-aligned committee chairpersons for delays in her proposed ordinances, saying hearings were either not scheduled, repeatedly canceled, or delayed for months despite her readiness to present the drafts.

In a statement Saturday, Aug. 29, Baronda said the issue was not the alleged absence of the drafts but the failure to properly schedule committee hearings and to involve her, as the proponent, in the legislative process.

“The issue is not simply: ‘Where is the draft?’ The real questions are: Why were my proposed ordinances left pending for months without properly involving me, the proponent, in the process? Why was there a delay?” she said.

She said she has the drafts and has always been prepared to present them during committee hearings, adding that she had repeatedly manifested her intention to explain the proposed measures personally.

“What I have been waiting for is simple: A hearing date,” Baronda said.

Earlier this month, the vice mayor criticized the majority-aligned committee chairpersons after 13 of her proposed ordinances and other legislative measures, some of which passed first reading as early as last year, made no progress.

Baronda and Councilor Sheen Marie Mabilog, the two members of the City Council minority, hold no committee chairmanships.

The council awarded all 32 of its standing committees to councilors allied with Mayor Raisa Treñas in a resolution adopted July 9, 2025, leaving the two Team Sulong Gugma members without posts and without control over hearing schedules or committee agendas.

Baronda’s proposed measures cover public safety and emergency response, volunteerism, education, good governance, workplace and school welfare, barangay administration, and City Council affairs.

Under the city’s legislative process, a proposed ordinance generally undergoes three readings.

If the committee recommends the measure for approval, it may be calendared for second reading, when councilors can debate its provisions and introduce amendments.

If approved on second reading, the measure proceeds to third and final reading for a vote.

Baronda hits back at councilors

Baronda responded to statements by several councilors who had raised concerns over the availability of drafts of her proposed measures.

She said the first hearing under Councilor Alan Zaldivar was scheduled without coordinating her availability and was later rescheduled twice based on his availability.

The two rescheduled hearings were subsequently canceled by his office, she said, and no further hearing was scheduled.

In the case of Councilor Miguel Treñas, Baronda said his written request for a copy of the draft came only after a 201-day delay.

She said she had repeatedly informed the committee that she intended to present the proposal personally during a committee hearing and had never refused to provide or discuss the measure.

On Councilor Sedfrey Cabaluna, Baronda said his official request for the draft came after a 75-day delay and only after her interview with the media.

Her office responded that she would present the draft personally during the hearing and asked that a hearing date be set first to allow the identification and invitation of appropriate stakeholders, she said.

She said this was not a refusal to cooperate with the committee.

Baronda also said there was no official or unofficial coordination from the offices of Councilors Rudolph Ganzon and Maria Irene Ong regarding her proposals.

She also disputed a statement by Councilor Dela Llana on her proposed 911 ordinance, accusing him of not being truthful when he allegedly said only the title of the proposal was available.

The measure, one of the 13 stalled proposals, seeks to establish a three-digit unified emergency hotline for the city and passed first reading in August 2025.

She cited the Oct. 9, 2025, transcript of stenographic notes from a committee hearing, which she said showed Dela Llana reading the articles of her proposed ordinance.

“If the draft was supposedly unavailable, what document was being read during that hearing?” she asked.

The vice mayor also questioned claims about funding concerns for the proposed measure, asking in what hearing such concerns were discussed and whether a separate hearing was conducted without her presence.

She said she could not recall any objections raised by the City Budget Office or the Local Finance Committee during the hearing, adding that stakeholders had supported the proposal and expressed interest in seeing it approved.

Baronda said that under the legislative process, a proposed ordinance is referred to the appropriate committee after its first reading, where it should be studied, presented, heard, and deliberated upon before the committee submits its report and recommendation to the City Council.

She said committee leaders have the responsibility to organize, facilitate, call, and preside over committee hearings, particularly when there are questions or concerns about a proposed measure.

“If there were concerns about my proposals, why was I not approached by them?” Baronda asked, noting that councilors regularly see each other during City Council sessions.

Baronda praised Councilor Rex Marcus Sarabia, saying he demonstrated proper coordination in handling one of her proposed measures.

She said Sarabia asked for her draft, accepted her explanation that she wanted to present it personally during a committee hearing, scheduled a hearing date, and coordinated the stakeholders who would be invited.

“When circumstances required a rescheduling, he apologized and provided a valid reason,” Baronda said.

“He did not badger me in the media. He did not resort to a blame game. He did not make excuses. That is coordination. That is professionalism,” she added.

Baronda called on her colleagues to stop shifting the discussion from the cause of the delay to the question of where the draft was.

“The draft has always been there. I have always been ready. Set the hearing. Let the ordinance be presented. Let the stakeholders be heard. Let the Committee deliberate. Let the Council do its work. And, most importantly, let the people benefit from sound policies produced through our collective efforts,” the vice mayor said.