ILOILO CITY – Mayor Jerry Treñas said no candle lighting vigil was held by Iloilo City councilors or Iloilo City Hall employees in support of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I would like to clarify that the Iloilo City government, along with its officials, did not organize or lead any candle lighting ceremony,” said Treñas.
A Facebook post has been circulating with a photo of a group of people lighting candles around a Philippine flag. The post claimed “employees and councilors of Iloilo City light candles and prayers in support for the ‘killer’ in The Hague.”
It is apparent that the area where the photo was taken is not even in Iloilo City.
Treñas said a permit was requested for a prayer rally by Duterte supporters last March 15 at the Freedom Grandstand near Iloilo City Hall. “No city government officials were involved in the event,” Treñas said.
Around 200 supporters of Duterte were seen during the prayer rally that called to bring him back home.
Iloilo City has never been a bailiwick of Duterte. He initially had supporters during the 2016 presidential elections but they dropped their support when he labeled Iloilo City as the most “shabulized” in the country.
During his presidency, Duterte threatened to have then Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog killed for being the chief executive of the most shabulized city in the country.