‘WILL HE, OR WON’T HE?’: Iloilo City mayor sends ‘cryptic’ message to VP Leni

By Joseph B.A. Marzan and Jennifer P. Rendon 

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas on Monday clarified that he would wait for the National Unity Party’s (NUP) official endorsement for the 2022 presidential elections, despite social media posts attributed to him praising Vice President Leni Robredo.

On late Sunday evening, Treñas posted on Twitter photos of him and Robredo during the latter’s visit back in March 2021.

The Office of the Vice President provided financial support for the Uswag Molecular Laboratory at Brgy. San Pedro in Molo district.

It was accompanied by the caption, “Para maganda ang gising nyo bukas,” together with a sparkling heart emoji.

Treñas’ account also interacted with some Twitter users confirming his expression of support for the vice president’s bid, adding that he would make similar posts on his official Facebook page Monday morning.

Robredo subsequently replied, “Thank you very much for your support, Mayor Jerry.”

Replying to Robredo, Treñas said, “I admire your grit. You have an unyielding courage in the face of adversity and have proven to be effective despite the limited resources. Above all, you have no traces of corruption.”

But at around 7:35 a.m. on Monday, the mayor reiterated to Daily Guardian that he will wait for the official endorsement of NUP, where he currently serves as its Vice President for Special Projects.

He did not state whether he personally made the posting on Twitter, saying that the vice president was the only one out of all presidential candidates who helped Iloilo amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

“[Robredo] has personally been helpful to us with test kits, PPEs, etc., during this pandemic. Among the presidential candidates she is the only one who had personally helped and visited Iloilo. As a person, I am close to her among all the presidential candidates, but I will wait for [the NUP’s] decision,” the mayor said in a message.

About an hour later, however, his official page posted a lengthier expression of support for Robredo, citing their “long friendship”.

He again posted pictures of Robredo during her visits in Iloilo City.

Treñas premised his post with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: “We need leaders not in love with money but in love with justice. Not in love with publicity but in love with humanity.”

He added, “when you understand the cry of the community, we should not wait for the click of the camera to act. As a public servant and a lawyer, I should stand firm for the welfare of my people. As the father of the city, I must also choose the right leader to guide and lead us – someone who has shown an unyielding courage in the face of adversity, someone who has proven to be effective despite the limited resources, and someone who has no traces of corruption.”

“I have known Vice President Leni for a long time, and as colleagues and friends in public service, she has always been supportive of our projects here in Iloilo City. (heart emoji)”

The post apparently sits well among Treñas’ followers after it gained thousands of reactions and more than a thousand shares an hour after it was posted.

A Facebook page backing Robredo’s presidential candidacy noted that “Iloilo was the game changer during the 2016 elections, on the evening of counting, around 100-200k lead votes were shifting between Marcos Jr and VP Leni, then the 1.2 million votes from Iloilo got transmitted and the rest as they say, is history!”

But Treñas also denied the post as an official endorsement, telling Daily Guardian in another message that she was a “friend among the presidential candidates”, adding again that he would wait for the NUP’s decision.

“As the father of the city, I must also choose the right leader to guide and lead us – someone who has shown an unyielding courage in the face of adversity, someone who has proven to be effective despite the limited resources, and someone who has no traces of corruption,” he said in his post.