ILOILO City – Cong. Julienne “Jam-jam” Baronda, Mayor Jerry Treñas and Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon sought a fresh mandate from the Ilonggos along with their 12-member slate for the City Council and Uswag Ilonggo party-list led by Jojo Ang and Raisa Treñas during their four-hour “Unity Walk and Proclamation Rally” on Saturday at the Sen. Efrain Treñas Boulevard.
Baronda passionately told the crowd and those watching online that she “can look straight into the eyes” of the Ilonggos to tell them she delivered and made good on her promises during the 2019 campaign. She ran with the slogan “Gugma Ko, H.O.P.E. Mo” where H means Health, O is Obra, P is Peace and Order, and E is Education.
Baronda pledged to double her H.O.P.E. advocacies by championing people-centered House bills and initiatives on Housing, OFW Welfare, Projects and Preparedness, and Environmental Protection upon her reelection.
Sen. Franklin Drilon, along with Iloilo’s Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., 2nd District’s Cong. Mike Gorriceta and 3rd District’s Cong. Lorenz Defensor, led the more than 10,000 Ilonggos in endorsing and supporting the Baronda-Treñas-Ganzon triumvirate, their slate for the city legislature and Uswag Ilonggo party-list.
Treñas appealed to the crowd, “Kon pila ang akon boto, amo man ang boto ni Congresswoman Jam-jam Baronda kag Vice Mayor Ganzon. Ang tanan ta nga konsehales, dal-on ta gid. Wala sang ibilin. Straight kita! Buligan ta ang Uswag Ilonggo party-list.”
Baronda, the young energetic frontrunner, stressed that on Health, she successfully filed a bill which became Republic Act 11496. It will increase the bed capacity of Western Visayas Medical Center and the hospital’s workforce by 2,200 upon full implementation.
She also fought for the Iloilo City Hospital bill that was passed in the House of Representatives already and would soon become a law, too.
On Obra, Baronda succeeded in pushing the passage of the bill creating the Metro Iloilo Special Economic Zone. This is seen to attract billions of pesos in investments and create thousands of jobs. It was passed in the House and Baronda vowed to push for its passage in the Senate upon her return to Congress.
On Peace and Order, she supported the increase of allocation of the Philippine National Police and succeeded in pushing for the approval of P85 million for the construction of buildings in Camp Delgado. On Education, she continued the Uswag Scholarship as promised, and facilitated more than 3,000 TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) scholarships.
The P200-million Iloilo City Sports Center is also being constructed to produce world-caliber Ilonggo athletes if not Olympic gold medalists, along with the school buildings for special classes in Information Technology and science, she further said.
She further highlighted the efficient and effective collaboration with the city government during the pandemic, where she complemented City Hall’s efforts by facilitating assistance from national government agencies like the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF), and Office of the President, among others.
Baronda is adding more H.O.P.E. to her original core advocacies as she seeks a fresh mandate. On Housing, she is pushing for additional housing projects on top of the P300-million Iloilo City People’s Residences, which is the first outside Davao City to be funded using the corporate funds of the National Housing Authority, to address the 10,000-unit housing needs of the city.
On OFW welfare, she pledged to work with national government agencies, particularly the newly created Department of Migrant Workers, to ensure the protection of OFWs as well as push for the construction of a facility in Metro Manila that will shelter the OFWs from the provinces like the Ilonggos.
On Projects and Preparedness, Barondai is pushing for the realization of the Comprehensive Drainage System in the city and facilitate the construction of multipurpose buildings in the barangays that can be used as quarantine and evacuation centers in preparation for disasters as well as venues for social or community events.
On Environment, she vowed to help address the gaps in the implementation of top environmental laws by and work with agencies and groups to reignite the passion for ecosystem regeneration among the youth and the general public. She has started doing this by making sure that green architecture is incorporated in the design of the Mandurriao Public Market.
Baronda also pledged to champion in the House of Representatives the increase in the monthly pension of senior citizens and the giving of monthly financial assistance to bedridden Filipinos, as well as push for livelihood opportunities for women and mothers, among other pro-people and responsive advocacies and initiatives.
Cong. Baronda highlighted her partnership with Treñas in steering Iloilo City towards the next level to make it greater than what it is today, underscoring her loyalty to his cause and tracing back their fruitful collaboration when she led the Youth for Treñas when he was running for his first term as mayor then.
“Gusto n’yo mehora? Gusto n’yo proyekto? Gusto n’yo mapuslanon nga layi? Gusto n’yo liderato nga gina-unungan kamo sa tion sang kapipit-an? Ipadayon ta ang gugma! Doblehon pa gid ang H.O.P.E. ta!” she boomed to the thunderous applause of the crowd.
Her father, Dr. Urminico “Doc Nick” Baronda Jr., the City Health Officer of Iloilo City for 28 long years and prior to that the only Filipino doctor picked by the United Nations to help during the war in Cambodia and the one who championed the 24/7 mobile clinic which was the forerunner of ICER, meanwhile, spoke about his C.A.R.E. advocacy which means catering to the needs of the elderlies and persons with disabilities (PWDs), assistance for better education, resiliency during disasters and efficiency in delivering the health services including mental health.
The following candidates for councilors also spoke about their platforms: Sedfrey Cabaluna, Eric David, Rommel Duron, Ely Estante, Rudolph Ganzon, Jojo Javellana, Frances Parcon, Rex Sarabia, Miguel Treñas, Johnny Young, and Alan Zaldivar.
Ms. Raisa Treñas also spoke about Uswag Ilonggo party-list group and its desire to help and serve the Ilonggo people. She is the second nominee. Mr. Jojo Ang, the first nominee, was also present.
Vice President Leni Robredo’s daughter Aika also addressed the crowd. The event culminated with the performance of popular band Rivermaya./PN
