‘WE ARE SORRY’: Treñas, Baronda apologize to Ilonggos for backing each other in past polls

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor 

They were once allies, but now they are apologizing for ever being one.

Former Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas and incumbent lone district Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda have publicly apologized to Ilonggos for once supporting each other in past elections.

Treñas on Thursday admitted it was a “grave mistake” to have endorsed and supported Baronda for Congress in 2019.

The former city mayor said he initially offered the congressional post to two individuals, but they declined and only Baronda took up the challenge.

Treñas said his regret stems from the many projects of Baronda that were left unfinished, poorly implemented, or never even started, citing several incomplete initiatives.

“These funds were not gifts. They were borrowed by the national government to finance our General Appropriations Act debts that every Filipino today and for generations to come will continue to pay,” he stressed.

Baronda also countered with her own apology — not for her work in Congress, but for once believing in and supporting Treñas since her early years in politics.

“I regret ever giving him my trust. For decades, he has failed our city,” she said.

Baronda accused Treñas of abandoning Ilonggos to floods, burdening them with debt from unfinished projects, and imposing a 300% increase in real property tax.

“An apology for empowering a woman leader who has consistently delivered in Congress is misplaced. What truly deserves an apology are the burdens and failures left behind after more than 30 years in power,” she added.

Baronda further criticized the Treñas administration’s steep rise in real property taxes, bank loans tied to delayed and incomplete infrastructure, and the lack of a comprehensive flood-mitigation plan.

She also slammed Treñas for what she described as “cosmetic governance,” prioritizing plazas and markets while neglecting basic infrastructure and flood protection.

Baronda further accused the former mayor of blocking projects she brought in, calling it “sabotage” and “betrayal.”

The lawmaker also questioned Treñas’ recent statements, saying he has long treated Iloilo City as if it were his personal domain.

She warned that his push for his daughter, incumbent city mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu, to succeed him risks perpetuating “the same cycle of failures.”

“To my fellow Ilonggos: I will not cower. I will not bow to the politics of fear and intimidation. I will fight—for truth, for justice, and for the future our children deserve,” Baronda declared.

Treñas and Baronda ran together as a political team in the 2019 elections and both won, with Treñas as mayor and Baronda as congresswoman.

However, after two successful elections together in 2019 and 2022, they had a political break-up in early 2024.