‘You Can’t Fight City Hall’

By Herbert Vego

ALL residents of Iloilo City must have guessed the context to which the above quotation refers.  Taking it literally, it’s because of the prevailing conflict between the Treñas and Baronda political clans.

The fact is that “You can’t fight City Hall” is an idiom expressing the helplessness of certain individuals when pitted against government authority. The phrase has become popular over time through word of mouth.

Essentially, the saying may not refer to the city government but to the national government or any other bureaucratic institution.

Anyway, what does it make of the perceived rivalry between the Treñas and the Baronda clans?

With Raisa Treñas now seated as the new mayor replacing her dad Jerry, re-elected congresswoman Juliene “Jam-Jam” Baronda ought to reach out to them in the spirit of reconciliation.

You see, while the two women did not fight each other for the same position, it was Jam-Jam’s sister, Julie “Love-Love” Grace Baronda, who fought and unseated Raisa’s running mate, now former vice-mayor Jeffrey Ganzon.

Love-Love’s candidates for the Sangguniang Panlungsod, however, were not so lucky.  Only one, Sheen Marie Mabilog, survived the debacle. It goes without saying that Mayor Raisa is in control of the supposedly vice-mayor’s turf.

I can only guess that the Barondas would try their best to win back the confidence of the Treñases to ensure their survival in election 2028. Should they?

The fly in the ointment, however, is the obvious intention of former mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, a present-day ally of the Barondas, to regain the post he abandoned in 2017 due to death threats from the then mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

However, having lived abroad for seven straight years, Jed Mabilog has lost popularity.  How to rebuild it is no easy task.

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NO INTERIM RELEASE FOR DUTERTE

ATTY. Kristina Conti, assistant counsel of the International Criminal Court (ICC), is now certain that former President Rodrigo Duterte would not be granted his request for interim release in any country. He has already scored more than 100 days in detention at the Hague for crimes against humanity.

Even if the request were granted, she said, “no country on record would be willing to host his interim release.”

Rumor persists that Vice President Sara Duterte had tried hard to negotiate with the Australian government but was turned down.

This development takes us back to the year 2018 when President Duterte jailed an Australian nun, Patricia Fox, 72, for allegedly criticizing his war on drugs and for joining anti-Duterte rallies.

Naturally, the news angered the Australian government.

Duterte eventually cancelled her visa and deported the nun.

But now, it’s the nun’s turn to laugh while enjoying life in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia.

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WHY ELECTRICITY CAN GO OFF WHEN IT RAINS

MANY times, MORE Power is “flooded” with complaints whenever it rains hard in Iloilo City.

My source says that electricity can go off when it rains due to the increased risks of faults and disruptions in the electrical system. Rainwater can cause short circuits in power lines or electrical equipment, mainly if vulnerabilities exist, such as exposed wires or damaged infrastructure.

When the wind blows, the wires move and things around the lines move. If the vegetation management is not kept up, trees can easily contact or come in close enough proximity for a fault to ground.

Heavy rain and strong winds can bring down trees and branches onto power lines, causing outages. The grounding of electrical systems can also be compromised in wet conditions, leading to safety mechanisms tripping to prevent further damage or danger.

MORE Power always prepares for such events with rapid response teams to restore power as quickly as possible.

Lightning strikes during storms are a common cause of power outages, as they can damage power lines, transformers, and other components of the electricity distribution network.