ILOILO CITY — Mayor Jerry Treñas here is facing administrative complaints over the alleged illegal demolition of the Iloilo Central Market, a presumed Important Cultural Property (ICP) under the National Heritage Act of 2009.
ILOILO City Mayor Jerry Treñas and Nereo Lujan (left) during good times and when Lujan filed administrative complaints against the mayor before the Ombudsman (right) on Thursday, July 4. (Nereo Lujan/Facebook)
Treñas is facing allegations of grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority, conduct unbecoming, and acts prejudicial to the interest.
Nereo Lujan, a heritage advocate and a known Treñas critic, filed the administrative complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas in Iloilo City on Thursday, July 4.
“The demolition of a historic center in a cultural heritage tourism zone without proper clearance from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) by the respondent (Treñas) constitutes oppression, misconduct in office, dereliction of duty, and abuse of authority in its most basic sense,” said Lujan in his 17-page complaint.
The Central Market is one of the two markets being redeveloped by SM Prime Holdings Inc. which was granted a 25-year lease agreement by the Treñas administration.
It was announced during the August 2022 signing of the lease of agreement that Central Market’s façade would not be touched as it was a heritage structure.
But the entire market was totally demolished last March.
The Central Market issue has resulted into Treñas cussing and threatening to sue journalists for asking questions during a May 20 press conference.
Treñas filed cyber libel complaints against Lujan, a former journalist and the chief information officer of the Iloilo provincial government, last May.
Lujan said that the administrative complaints against Treñas had nothing to do with his position with the provincial government.