Treñas Says Ilonggo Pride Is His True Legacy

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

“A sense of pride to the Ilonggos.”

This is how Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas describes the legacy he hopes to leave behind as he prepares to step away from public service.

Treñas, whose decades-long political career began as mayor in 2001 and resumed in 2019, said his legacy goes beyond physical infrastructure.

“My legacy is not the infrastructure, not the roads, not the drainage, not the buildings,” he said.

“It’s not the markets where vendors will be able to sell more because it’s going to be better.”

“It’s a sense of pride to the Ilonggos.”

He said the transformation of Iloilo City under his leadership was not just physical but cultural.

Treñas recalled that when he first assumed office, the city struggled with pollution and poor waste management, earning the reputation of being the “dirtiest city.”

He said the heavily polluted Iloilo River and unmanaged solid waste problems contributed to this image.

In 2019, he noted that Iloilo City was again stigmatized—this time as the “most shabulized” in the country due to the widespread use of illegal drugs.

Despite these challenges, Treñas said his administration worked with residents and the private sector to reverse the city’s negative image.

“After one term, we had our sense of pride in being an Ilonggo,” he said.

“You see that pride not only in people at City Hall, but also in taxi drivers, vendors, restaurant owners, and the wider community.”

Treñas also pointed to several infrastructure accomplishments under his administration.

These include the Iloilo City Action and Resilience Center, the renovation of health centers and public plazas, the construction of school buildings, and the modernization of public markets.

Looking back, Treñas acknowledged the limits of leadership but expressed satisfaction in what his administration had achieved.

“I think it’s important for me to say that this is one guy who really gave his all for a city to make life a little better,” he said.

“We cannot solve all the problems, but I was totally and fully dedicated to the good of the people of Iloilo.”