ILOILO City – Come-backing Mayor Jerry P. Treñas considers his first day in office yesterday as a time to fulfill his campaign promise to “level up.”
When reached for a brief interview early yesterday, he was preparing to move out of the house to visit his City Hall office with his wife Rosalie, their children and key city officials.
He began his first day in office with a mass, flag-raising ceremony and ceremonial tree planting.
It was a working Sunday as he met with his finance and legal teams to review the alleged “shopping spree” done by the previous Espinosa administration that had allegedly ordered costly vehicles, a drone and a large-format printer. They reached the consensus of just cancelling the anomalous transactions and move on.
The mayor also held his first meeting with his department heads.
Today, he will meet with all members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod and join them in their inaugural session. He has no doubt they will be cooperating with him in his “level-up” marketing of Iloilo City.
In his inaugural speech at the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC) on Friday, Treñas revealed that what made him decide to run again for mayor was a recurring vision that he would be instrumental in further accelerating the rise of a world-class city.
“As young as 15,” he recalled, “as the president of our Student Council in high school and the vice chairman of the consultative council of students to the city government, I envisioned a city whose people would not want to leave anymore because it has everything; preserved rich cultural heritage, exciting contemporary lifestyle, and job and employment opportunities for all our people. I worked so hard both in school and in practical life so I can be in the forefront of turning that vision into reality.”
Elected mayor in 2001, re-elected in 2004 and 2007, he worked to turn his dream into reality. Before he left the mayor’s office to assume a seat in the House of Representatives in 2010, he predicted that by 2015, Iloilo City would have gained national recognition as a premier city.
While representing the lone district of the city in the House, he authored laws that have fast-tracked the growth of the city. One of them is Republic Act No. 10555, declaring the Jaro Cathedral, Molo Church, the Iloilo Central Business District, Fort San Pedro, Jaro Plaza Complex, Molo Plaza Complex and Plaza Libertad Complex as Cultural Heritage Tourism Zone.
Most Iloilo City residents still remember that, before he became congressman for the first time in 2010, Treñas had served as councilor; and then for three terms as mayor.
It was he who coined the slogan “Think Big! Think Iloilo!” in 1992.
He predicted that at the rate it is growing, by the year 2028, Iloilo City would have inevitably gained national recognition as one of the “top three best urbanized cities in the country.”
“Let us translate our potentials into greater heights of excellence,” Treñas urged the 4,000 people from all walks of life who witnessed his inauguration and those of Rep. Julienne Baronda, Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon and the Sangguniang Panlungsod members. “It is about time to use our potentials in bringing Iloilo City to the next level. Despite the various recognitions we have received both in the national and international levels, we are still confronted with many issues and challenges that hinder us from becoming one of the most livable highly urbanized cities in the country.”
As he had promised many times in his campaign speeches, he reiterated his intention to “level up” through a multipronged vehicle called “WHEELS.”
The “W” in WHEELS stresses over-all welfare. It covers public safety and security, peace and order, enhanced emergency response and disaster preparedness, effective drainage and septage system, lesser power outages and lower electricity rates in order to attract more BPOs and investors, comprehensive social services.
“H” for Health and Sanitation is aimed at improving access to medical and dental services, properly maintained public toilets, better access to potable water to everyone, sustained feeding program for the children and vaccination, and better the healthcare services that would include the construction of a city hospital and dialysis centers.
“E” is for Education that would enhance local government assistance to public schools, day care centers, upgrade the Iloilo City Community College and Technical Institute of Iloilo, and provide continuing education to city hall employees and teachers.
The other “E” is for Environmental Management that would rationalize the Esplanade operations, improve all public plazas, and initiate closer engagements with national government agencies.
“L” for Livelihood means finding ways and means to provide employment and livelihood opportunities and trainings for the poor, intensify tourism and investment promotions, promote Iloilo as “Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions” (MICE.
“S” is for Sustainability in continuous delivery of all government programs, projects, activities, and services./PN
