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BY PRINCE GOLEZ, Manila Reporter
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Monday, December 19, 2016
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MANILA – Iloilo Provincial Administrator Raul Banias has every right to run for Iloilo City mayor, according to Cong. Jerry Treñas.
But will he support the provincial official?
Treñas said he will support the “best candidate” for city mayor in the 2019 elections.
The congressman recently announced his retirement from politics after his term ends in 2019. He then endorsed Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog as the next Iloilo City congressman and Vice Mayor Jose Espinosa III as the next city mayor.
A group of businessmen were allegedly interested in bankrolling Banias’ candidacy for city mayor.
“No one can stop Provincial Administrator Banias from running for mayor of Iloilo City. It is his own right to do so,” Treñas told Panay News.
Will the provincial government official make a good city mayor?
The Iloilo City congressman said he could not say because he had not worked with him but stressed “anyone technically can run for any position in the country.”
Between 1998 and 2007, Banias, a doctor by profession, served as mayor of Concepcion, Iloilo in the 5th District.
He was also appointed Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas during the Arroyo administration.
“Daw ka aga kag daw malayo pa politika. Anyway, probably those businessmen see something in him,” said Treñas.
Treñas’ decision to quit political by 2019 shocked supporters. Early this year, he said he was running for Iloilo City mayor in 2019.
“I have always enjoyed being mayor. The job is action-oriented and very in touch with people,” he told this writer in January.
Banias, when asked about this group of businessmen supposedly backing him up, replied: “I do not say yes, I don’t say no…We will see. Katulad man ni Governor (Arthur Defensor Sr.), never say no anay. Tan-awon ta ang sitwasyon.”
The 2019 election is 29 months away.
“Kon wala ka sang kontra ti ngaa abi indi ka magdalagan? Kung may kontra ka, i-assess mo man ang kontra mo basi indi ka kasarang,” Banias told capitol reporters.
Banias is a registered voter and resident of Concepcion, Iloilo but owns a house in Iloilo City and has been living in the metro for over 20 years now. Nothing bars him from switching residences or transferring his voter’s registration./PN
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