ILOILO CITY – Mayor Jerry Treñas of this city, in a surprising announcement, dropped his reelection bid and endorsed his daughter Raisa Treñas-Chu as his successor.
ILOILO City Mayor Jerry Treñas and daughter Raisa Treñas-Chu. (Arnold Almacen/CMO)
“While it has been my intention to finish my term, I believe it is in the best interest of Team Uswag and the city for me to stand down and focus on fulfilling my duties as city mayor for the remainder of my term,” said Treñas in a statement on Thursday, October 3, several days before the end of the filing of Certificates of Candidacy for the May elections on October 8.
In another surprising announcement, Treñas said that his Team Uswag is now allied with Iloilo City Rep. Julienne “JamJam” Baronda who he endorsed for reelection.
This endorsement sent shockwaves as Treñas had been public in his attacks against Baronda.
These began last March when Treñas severed ties with Baronda after he announced that she will be replaced by his daughter Raisa.
Since then, Treñas and his camp have been accused of politically blocking programs and projects lobbied by Baronda, including projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways-6 (Western Visayas).
Treñas also said that he might switch positions with his daughter Raisa as various surveys showed she is far behind Baronda as preferred candidate for this city’s lone congressional district. He said that his daughter will run for mayor while he will run for Congress against Baronda.
The mayor has been widely criticized for insisting on his daughter’s entry into politics despite no prior experience as an elective official.
His camp has drawn flak for using government resources in what appeared to be early campaigning. Treñas appointed his daughter as one of his executive assistants.
It was also unclear if Treñas backed down from seeking reelection with the return of former Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.
Mabilog has not confirmed if he is running for an elective position but was seen attending activities with Baronda.
He credited Baronda for helping him return to the country from a seven-year exile in the United States to clear his name from the narco-politician allegations of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Baronda camp has not confirmed this new political alliance with Treñas.