ILOILO City – With the outpouring of endorsements, their unmatched performance and accomplishments, responsive and realistic platforms, and immense popularity, Cong. Julienne “Jam-jam” Baronda, Mayor Jerry Treñas and Vice Mayor Jefrrey Ganzon as well as their entire slate for the city legislature and Uswag Ilonggo party-list are set to trounce their challengers in the elections on Monday, May 9.
Baronda will edge her challenger who miserably attempted to repackage himself as the better alternative. The Ilonggo electorate have not forgotten what he said in 2019 — that he would not run for Congress saying he’s not cut out for the job because “para lang na ‘ya sa mga maalam.” To prove his point, he revealed his score in the Bar examinations was a dismal 77%.
The most trusted polling firm in the region that has yet to err in predicting the results of the local elections revealed that Baronda got 64.7% or 213,814 of the Ilonggo voters. The challenger is 101,454 votes away (30.7%) with only 34% of the 600 respondents surveyed on April 23, 2022.
Mayor Treñas, hailed as one of the best mayors in the country for shepherding the Ilonggos through the pandemic, is unshaken by the verbal attacks of his opponent with 80.8% or 267,019 voters going to choose him. His noisy challenger got a pittance score of 18.8%
Vice Mayor Ganzon can snore loudly with his 85.5% score which translates to 282,551 votes. His unknown opponent got only 14.2%.
Their winning slate for the city legislature include: Dr. Urminico Baronda Jr., Atty. Sedfrey Cabaluna, Punong Barangay Eric David, Atty. Rommel Duron, Councilor Ely Estante, Councilor Rudolph Ganzon, Councilor Jojo Javellana, Atty. Frances Parcon, Atty. Rex Sarabia, Miguel Treñas, Johnny Young, and Councilor Allan Zaldivar.
Baronda, who has consistently said she wants to continue serving the Ilonggos out of sheer love for public service, brushed off the rabid black propaganda and libelous attacks launched against her on social media and radio blocktime programs.
When her opponent stoked an elitist view that legislative work is the sole turf of lawyers despite him not being known to have won a case nor is he known in legal circles as a lawyer of note, Baronda merely reported her accomplishments: 163 bills filed with 32 enacted into law and 75 passed on third and final reading.
It includes Republic Act 11496 that expands Western Visayas Medical Center’s (WVMC) bed capacity to 700 and increases by 2,220 the number of its hospital workers. Her pet bill establishing the Iloilo City Hospital and another bill creating the Metro Iloilo Special Economic Zone both hurdled the scrutiny to the lower House and are now pending before the Senate.
Not having a calamity fund did not deter Baronda from helping her people throughout the pandemic, her campaign asserted. As vice chair of the House Transportation Committee, she facilitated the shipment of health essentials as well as specimens to Metro Manila for RT-PCR test at the start of the hard lockdown, helped thousands of stranded individuals return home through special flights, commercial sea voyages and special Navy trips.
She, too, made sure to deliver on her campaign promise of H.O.P.E. — health, obra, peace and order, education. Under health, she facilitated assistance to patients of WVMC and West Visayas State University Medical Center worth P24 million; assistance to Ilonggo patients in the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, Philippine Heart Center and UP Philippine General Hospital worth P34 million; assistance to individuals in crisis situations with P85 million, assistance to typhoon, fire and tornado survivors worth P14 million; and distributed 350 wheelchairs, among others.
Under obra, Baronda brought in P26 million for Government Internship Program, P41 million for COVID Adjustment Measures Program, P94 million in TUPAD (with another P70 million being implemented now), P5 million for sustainable livelihood program and P21 million worth of NegoKart, trisikads and Bikecination programs.
Under peace and order, she co-authored Republic Act 11549 which lowered the height requirement for Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and Bureau of Corrections applicants, paving the way for more law enforcement authorities to be hired. She allocated P50 million for the construction of the Philippine Coast Guard regional headquarters as well as distributed 100 bicycle units for barangay frontliners, 25 e-trike units and 18 mobile emergency response vehicles.
And under education, she continued the Uswag Scholarship of Mayor Treñas, helped some 2,000 Ilonggos have Technical Education and Skills Development Authority scholarships, distributed 300 laptops to teachers, helped almost 500 students avail of Commission on Higher Education scholarships, and allocated funds for the constructions of numerous school buildings.
All these are way beyond the usual allocation for a congressional district, which means Baronda knows her way around the bureaucracy and legislative mill to push her people-centered agenda.
Treñas, meanwhile, champions the WHEELS program — welfare, health and sanitation, education, environmental management, livelihood, and sustainability.
The triumvirate was recently endorsed by the influential Iglesia ni Cristo which is expected to further increase their votes on Monday.
“Their choice of Jam-Jam Baronda as their congresswoman is their choice for a responsive governance that never abandons the people but does everything during their darkest hour. Their vote for me is a vote for more projects, responsive and realistic programs for the Ilonggos, and impactful pieces of legislation both of local and national significance. Their vote for me is a vote in favor of Good Urban Governance and Meaningful Advocacies. Their vote for Baronda, Treñas, Ganzon, Team Gugma-Uswag-Arriva and Uswag Ilonggo partylist is a vote for a faster economic recovery of Iloilo City and a more progressive new normal for the Ilonggo people,” said Baronda.
Team Gugma-Uswag-Arriva is backed by the majority of punong barangays, kagawads, treasurers, secretaries, Sangguniang Kabataan officials, youth leaders, and 25,000 barangay leaders./PN
