Treñas-Chu hires 20 aides; ex-mayor Espinosa top paid

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu has employed a total of 20 executive assistants, with former mayor Jose Espinosa III receiving the highest salary among them.

Espinosa, who served as mayor of Iloilo City from 2017 to 2019 and is Treñas-Chu’s uncle by marriage, now serves as Executive Assistant V.

Records obtained by Daily Guardian showed that Espinosa is earning a monthly salary of PHP 98,185.

He was previously designated as special adviser to the city government by former mayor Jerry Treñas in January 2025, a position that carried no compensation.

Jerry has also been designated by his daughter, Raisa, as a special adviser, also without compensation.

Sharing the same salary grade with Espinosa is Mary Joy Fantilaga-Gorzal, the mayor’s spokesperson, who is also designated as Executive Assistant V.

Fantilaga-Gorzal previously served as spokesperson to Jerry starting in September 2024, marking the first time in his 38-year political career that he appointed an official spokesperson.

Other executive assistants include former barangay captains, city councilors, retired officials, and professionals appointed to various support and advisory roles in City Hall.

Among them are Fernando Jose Rico and Rudiver Jungco Sr., both former barangay captains now serving as Executive Assistants IV with salaries of PHP 80,411 each.

Rico handles Barangay Affairs, while Jungco heads the City Sports and Development Office.

Efrain Paredes and former Government Service Insurance System Iloilo Branch manager Eleanor Gregorio, who oversees the Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities Affairs Office, also receive the same salary grade.

Former city treasurer Katherine Tingson and former councilor Jose Efrain “Jay” Treñas III are also part of the list, with Jay — one of the mayor’s cousins — earning PHP 79,277.

Raulen “Leny” T. Ledesma, executive assistant for special projects, and former barangay captains Mark Ryan Acap and Love Joy Hoseniilla likewise serve as Executive Assistants IV with salaries of PHP 78,162 each.

Acap heads the Atipan Center, while Hoseniilla leads Task Force ASIS.

Former councilors Ely Estante Jr. and Candice Magdalane Tupas are Executive Assistants III, each receiving PHP 62,967, while retired police colonel Leo Puertollano earns PHP 64,732 under the same classification.

Estante handles the markets and slaughterhouse, while Tupas is assigned to medical tourism.

Both were appointed in August, more than a month after their terms as councilors ended.

Also on the roster are former Department of Environment and Natural Resources employee Armando Dayrit, who handles the city’s tree-growing program, former population officer Mary Ann Ramos, former city assessor Nelson Parreño, and former barangay captain Nestor Canong, who heads the Task Force on Moral and Values Formation.

They are all classified as Executive Assistants II, with salaries ranging from PHP 47,247 to PHP 48,213.

At the lower end of the pay scale are Jsrah Malones and Cyril Octavio as Executive Assistants I, earning PHP 37,384 and PHP 37,024, respectively.

Completing the list is Private Secretary II Ruben Torres, who earns PHP 41,006 monthly.

In a press conference on Sept. 3, Treñas-Chu vowed that her administration will uphold transparency, citing her observer status in the Mayors for Good Governance coalition.

Weeks after she took office, the city mayor said she had already discussed transparency measures with the City Council two months ago, particularly the prioritization of a Freedom of Information ordinance.

However, no resolution or ordinance on the matter has yet been proposed or passed by the City Council.

Treñas-Chu also said she is willing to make her Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth available to the public.

“Actually, if needed, anytime our SALN is ready,” she said.