ILOILO City – For a daughter motivated by a father who dedicated more than half of his life to public service, serving other people has become the norm.
Not many know, but behind the success of Iloilo City’s Mayor Jerry P. Treñas is the strong support of his daughter, Raisa, silently working in the background, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From just watching and supporting her father in his early years as a public servant to managing the family business, Raisa gladly accepted the greater responsibility of public service and embraced the privilege to serve the city when she was asked by her father.
Purely in the spirit of volunteerism, Raisa, side by side with her mother Rosalie, led and mobilized the Uswag Community Kitchen to serve meals to thousands of Ilonggo families, including the frontliners and COVID-19 patients in the city’s quarantine facilities.
The Uswag Community Kitchen efforts even gained the massive support of the private sector through cash or kind donations.
Up to this day, the community kitchen continues to serve through the City Social Welfare and Development Office, especially during calamities like typhoons.
Moreover, the mayor’s only daughter continued finding ways to help the city and its residents to ease the ill-effects of the pandemic.
Another remarkable initiative she has taken was the movement dubbed Ilonggo Artists Against COVID-19. She gathered Ilonggo artists to sell their works and use a portion of their income to fund the production of facemasks.
Through this project, over 100 sewers, composed of women and the LGBTQ community, were employed to produce hundreds of thousands of facemasks as a layer of protection against the virus.
It was like hitting three birds with one stone: it gave livelihood to many mothers and LGBT community members, created a platform for Ilonggo artists to be recognized and earn income for their work, and solved the issue of facemask shortage.
Raisa, who served as guest of honor and speaker at the June 7 recognition and moving-up ceremony of the International Business Program of St. Robert’s International College, imparted her transformational experience to the students.
“Working with people from all walks of life, especially those from the grassroots, has given me a very rewarding and transformative experience that eventually molded me into a person who is now full of vision for my fellow Ilonggos,” said the young Treñas.
Said initiatives spearheaded by Raisa helped Iloilo City gain the admiration and recognition of many at the national and international level, earning the nickname “Wakanda of the Philippines.”
It was also during this time that Raisa, together with concerned City Hall offices like the City Population Office and City Agriculturist’s Office, took to full swing the initiative called JPT Ediscape (edible landscaping), a communal vegetable gardening project.
Through this, communities were empowered by creating livelihood opportunities and providing fresh, nutritious, and organic products that benefited the residents. Some of the fresh harvest was even donated to the community kitchen.
Currently, there are a total of 71 JPT Ediscapes across the city. The target is to establish it in all the city’s 180 barangays.
For a more holistic approach, RISE-A-FARM, or Resilient, Integrated, Sustainable Environment program for agricultural development to fight hunger in the city, was born. It is an all-inclusive and eco-friendly program with the goal of making sure no Ilonggo will go hungry.
RISE-A-FARM was also adjudged one of the national finalists for the Galing Pook-Walang Gutom Awards.
Raisa said steering the wheels of inclusive development for Iloilo City is never easy; however, it is made easier by everyone working together.
“My father always tells us that public service is not an easy vocation. Either you commit or you do not commit. If you commit, you have to give it your all,” she shared.
Raisa also gave a glimpse of the kind of public service she can offer when she led several initiatives and projects for the Uswag Ilonggo party-List as the second nominee in the 2022 elections.
Serving the Ilonggos continues for Raisa post-pandemic as she goes about her duties as her father’s executive assistant.
Together with offices in the city government, she has been leading some important undertakings, such as sports, employment, nutrition, and mental health programs, for the benefit of all Ilonggos./PN
