ILOILO – Approximately 600 elected officials from this province are set to take their oath under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), the political party of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., this Sunday afternoon, June 2, at the Grand Xing Imperial Hotel in Iloilo City.
The majority of these officials include provincial board members, mayors, vice mayors, councilors, and barangay captains from the 2nd,3rd, 4th, and 5th congressional districts.
Notably, no mayors from the 1st District have committed or expressed interest in transferring to PFP, nor have any of the five congresspersons, including 3rd District’s Cong. Lorenz Defensor, younger brother of Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. who is the regional party chairman of PFP.
“At 1 p.m. on Sunday, there will be a mass oath-taking of Iloilo elected officials, plus those from Guimaras. We are also coordinating with Negros Occidental and waiting for any Iloilo city officials who will join us,” said Defensor.
Some provincial board members, mayors, vice mayors, and councilors from Guimaras are expected to join PFP, but they are still awaiting the decision of Gov. Joaquin Carlos Rahman Nava.
Both Governor Nava and his wife, Cong. Lucille Nava, currently remain with the National Unity Party (NUP).
Regarding Negros Occidental, Defensor is still uncertain about who will join PFP as he has not yet reviewed any documents.
In Iloilo City, Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon and some councilors have shown interest in joining PFP, but Defensor is still waiting for their final confirmation as of this writing.
Raisa Treñas-Chu, daughter of Iloilo City’s Mayor Jerry Treñas, who was initially confirmed by Defensor to join PFP, has decided not to take the oath with PFP. Instead, she will join her father’s political party, NUP, and has declared her candidacy for congresswoman of the Lone District of Iloilo City.
“Miss Raisa is not joining us on Sunday because she called me more than a week ago to inform me that she will just join her father’s party, NUP. I said, of course, why not. But we’re always open, as the President said, and politics is dynamic with developing alliances,” explained Defensor.
The oath-taking ceremony may be administered by either PFP President South Cotabato governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. or Secretary Antonio Ernesto “Anton” Floirendo Lagdameo Jr., Special Assistant to the President (SAP), both of whom are expected to be present.
Following the oath-taking, there will be a dialogue between Lagdameo and all mayors of Iloilo province to provide local chief executives the opportunity to submit their project proposals to the President.
Mayor Treñas has also been invited to attend the mass oath-taking and the subsequent dialogue with Lagdameo, considering his position as the local chief executive of Iloilo City./PN
