BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – Mayor Jerry Treñas confirmed that he won’t be attending the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 22.
In his press briefing, Treñas said he already informed Marcos about his decision due to equally important matters that he would be attending on that day.
But the mayor said he had relayed to the President some of the vital infrastructure projects for Western Visayas which Ilonggos wish to hear when the latter delivers his address.
These projects include the long-delayed privatization of the Iloilo Airport, the completion of the Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project (JRMP II), and the Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) bridges.
“I talked to him and he told me that those projects should have been done a long time ago,” said Treñas.
Asked to rate the President’s performance so far, the mayor replied, “He is doing well and he is trying to do his best.”
He also observed that things have started to return to “normal” since the change of the administration.
Marcos Jr. had said his third SONA will focus on updates on the administration’s efforts to uplift the lives of Filipinos, improve the economy, and address criminality and other social problems in the country.
“We will also report on the state of the nation in the sense that, what are the lives of our people, how are they doing? The economy, how is it doing? Criminality, how are we doing on that? How are we doing in the other problems, social problems, such as drugs, such as different threats that have been coming to us,” he added.
In his press briefing via Zoom, former senator Franklin Drilon welcomed the completion of the JRMP II, which was inaugurated today by President Marcos yesterday, July 16.
“We extend our gratitude to President Marcos and the late President Aquino for prioritizing this vital infrastructure project, which is crucial for addressing the country’s food security challenges,” Drilon said.
“This is a legacy project that unites political names, and I am proud to have played a crucial role in bringing this six-decade-old vision to completion,” he added.
Drilon said the project started under the leadership of President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who completed the first phase in 1983.
In the July 19, 2023, National Economic and Development Authority Board meeting chaired by President Marcos, the board approved the loan restructuring program amounting to P8.48 billion for the completion of JRMP II.
The JRMP II is the first large-scale reservoir constructed in the Visayas and Mindanao regions. It is the National Irrigation Administration’s (NIA) flagship project in Western Visayas.
JRMP was first implemented by NIA in the 1960s after the Fourth Congress of the Philippines passed Republic Act 2651 (R.A. 2651) on June 18, 1960.
The law provides for the construction of the Jalaur Multi-Purpose Project in the Province of Iloilo and governs its operation after its completion.
JRMP II aims to usher inclusive development among stakeholders achieved through harnessing the potential of the Jalaur River for multi-purpose benefit while minimizing possible impacts to the environment and the project-covered communities.
Such benefits include year-round irrigation, bulk water supply, hydroelectric power, and eco-tourism.
Primary areas that shall be served by the project include the towns of Calinog, Lambunao, Badiangan, Janiuay, Cabatuan, and Sta. Barbara, Pavia, Alimodian, Leon, San Miguel, Oton, Tigbauan, Duenas, San Enrique, Anilao, Dingle, Barotac Nuevo, Dumangas, Mina, New Lucena, Pototan, Zarraga and Leganes, Passi City, and Iloilo City./PN
