ILOILO City – “Had I agreed to pay them one hundred million pesos, Joe would not have run against me,” commented Cong. Jerry Treñas on the “awkward situation” that he and brother-in-law Mayor Jose Espinosa III now find themselves entangled – running against each other for mayor.
The congressman and the mayor are magbilas in Hiligaynon parlance, their wives Rosalie Sarabia Treñas and Regina “Gina” Sarabia Espinosa being sisters.
“The couple wanted me to give them that much money,” Treñas continued, “as precondition for Joe not running against me for mayor. I did not agree.”
The only way for them to run without clashing was for Treñas (outgoing, third-term congressman) to run for mayor and Espinosa to run for congressman.
Treñas recalled that early in March 2018, he called for a consensus meeting with the city’s 180 barangay chairmen, of whom 166 attended and endorsed the idea of him running for mayor and Espinosa for congressman, since the two had always fought their political battles as allies.
Treñas said it was Espinosa’s wife Gina who resisted the endorsement; she called his chief of staff, Jonas Bellosillo (a former barangay chairman) to a meeting in her office on Guanco Street.
When Bellosillo arrived, Treñas said, there were three other people there: Gina’s cousins Roberto “Bobby” Divinagracia and Luz Divinagracia Quimpo, and Gina’s personal aide Rosita Celiz Camacho.
“After their meeting,” Treñas remembered, “Jonas Bellosillo told me that Gina was demanding an amount of P100 million, for which Joe would run for congressman. Otherwise, he would be running for mayor. When I did not agree, she asked for a second meeting with Jonas. She insisted on the amount but would accept a down payment of P50 million. When I remained adamant, she offered to reduce the down payment to P20 million, and the balance payable later. If I could produce the amount, Joe would raise my hand as his candidate for mayor. I still refused, knowing we would not even be spending that much by running together as a team.”
According to Treñas, the other Sarabia siblings and their spouses also tried to patch them up but to no avail.
“I attempted to reach Joe by phone but he would not talk to me. He had obviously made up his mind to run against me despite supplications by our common friends and relatives to reconsider. It’s heartbreaking that a political disagreement has turned into a family feud. The Espinosas no longer attend Sarabia family gatherings, as in last Christmas,” said Treñas.
Bellosillo confirmed having met with the city’s first lady and exchanged text messages with her and her aide Rosita Camacho. He showed one of Camacho’s text messages, saying, “Kap, diin na ang P50M nga down payment ni Cong. Treñas para mabayaw ni Sir Joe ang kamot ni Cong. Treñas?”
Meanwhile, Treñas questioned the legality of the hasty passage last Friday of the Sangguniang Panlungsod resolution declaring Iloilo City in a state of calamity due to water crisis. The city has P115 million in local disaster risk reduction and management (LDRRM) funds.
Lawyer Romel Duron, one of Treñas’ 12 Team Uswag candidates for the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP), said there was no “quorum” when only eight SP members (out of 15, including the vice mayor and ex-officio councilors) showed up for Friday last week’s special session.
“There was no quorum,” Duron stressed, “because the number of members assembled to pass the resolution was insufficient to constitute the majority required. The majority required was eight, but there were only seven who could legally vote.”
Duron questioned the eighth vote of Councilor R Leone Gerochi because he was acting presiding officer in the absence of Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon. He cited Section 49 of the Local Government Code specifically providing that “the presiding officer shall vote only to break a tie.”
Team Uswag, which also includes Julienne “Jam-jam” Baronda as its candidate for congresswoman, also stressed that based on the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) guidelines, the SP could not justify the declaration of a state of calamity without the following five conditions that should first exist, to wit:
* 20 percent of the local population are affected
* 40 percent of the means of livelihood have been destroyed
* major roads and bridges have been damaged or impassable
* widespread destruction; and
* disruption of lifelines (e.g. power, water, communications)/PN
Mayor Joe need the amount to run his campaign, natural lang na… kay iban gani nga pulitiko nagasolicit man or their campaign was funded by businessman…ang pagdeclare sang state of calamity sulod man sa condition nga kinahanglan ex. disruption of lifeline…