ILOILO City – Did Cong. Jerry Treñas abandon then mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog at the most difficult time of his political ally as claimed by Mrs. Maria Victoria Mabilog?
Treñas answered the former city first lady’s claim with a stony silence.
Mayor Jose Espinosa III, however, gave credence to Mrs. Mabilog’s assertion. For example, he said, Treñas never invited Mabilog to join the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino – Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Unlike Treñas, Espinosa said he did not drop Mabilog like a hot potato.
On Facebook, Mrs. Mabilog claimed that neither Treñas nor Espinosa, then the vice mayor, reached out to her husband when the latter was being unfairly maligned by the President as an illegal drugs protector.
Espinosa said he understood where Mrs. Mabilog was coming from but stressed, “Naga-istoryahanay gid kami na ni Jed ya.”
But he had a mouthful to say about Treñas such as on the mass transfer and oath-taking of local leaders to PDP-Laban last Aug. 13, 2017 before then House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez at the Iloilo Convention Center.
According to Espinosa, “Never gid siya (Jed) gin imbitar.”
“Never gid siya gin hambalan. Dasun gapangita man to siya (Jed) nga madala man kon diin nga event…never gid siya gindala. Amu gid na ‘ya ang ginasakitan sang buot ni Mayor Jed,” said Espinosa.
Mabilog and Treñas used to belong to the Liberal Party. A few weeks after the 2016 national elections, Treñas transferred to PDP-Laban.
“Hambal ko, ‘Jed, indi ko ‘ya magsumpa (to PDP-Laban) kay NP (Nacionalista Party) ako. Ti si Jed ‘ya naghambal sa akon, ‘Kun pasumpaon ko ni Cong. (Pantaleon Alvarez) masumpa man ko,” revealed Espinosa.
According to Mrs. Mabilog, Treñas and Espinosa’s “silence and apparent lack of empathy speak volumes about their character, particularly the advancement of their own personal interests.”
Both Treñas and Espinosa are running for mayor in the May 13, 2019 midterm elections. Neither of them would be endorsed by the Mabilogs, according to Mrs. Mabilog./PN
