ILOILO City – Cong. Jerry Treñas must explain the billions of pesos of government funds spent during his three terms as city mayor but which the Commission on Audit (COA) questioned, according to his rival for mayor, Dr. Pacita Gonzalez, wife of the late Justice secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr.
Treñas served as mayor for three consecutive terms from 2001 to 2004, 2004 to 2007 and 2007 to 2010.
“How will the Representative of the Lone District of Iloilo and now mayorable Jerry Treñas justify the cash transactions and city hall operations of P8.5 billion during his administration for fiscal years 2002 to 2010,” asked Gonzalez.
Citing COA’s findings, Gonzalez said such huge spending “placed the Ilonggos and government in undue disadvantage.”
“Now, do you still want him to be the next mayor?” said Gonzalez.
Treñas has not responded squarely to Gonzalez’s remarks made during a candidates’ forum on March 23.
At the forum for city mayoral bets hosted by a radio station and University of the Philippines Visayas, Treñas looked visibly upset and raised his voice. He almost walked out of the debate.
Gonzalez was referring to the Request for Assistance (RAS) addressed to the Ombudsman in November 2012 seeking clarification on what happened to COA’s findings.
As alleged in the RAS submitted to the Ombudsman, COA found the following “adverse” findings on city government finances during Treñas’ administration:
* P1.4 billion in 2002
* P584.1 million in 2003
* P863.4 million in 2004
* P1.2 billion in 2005
* P1.1 billion in 2006
* P918.3 million in 2007
* P1 billion in 2008
* P587.4 million in 2009
* P1 billion in 2010.
“Please consider this as a formal Request for Assistance in our hope that through the Office of the Ombudsman, we would be able to clarify before the public what has happened, if any, on the stated COA findings,” read part of the RAS addressed to then Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas Pelagio Apostol.
As of this writing, it was unclear what action the Ombudsman took on the RAS.
Interestingly, two of the signatories of the RAS are currently political allies of Treñas – Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon and Liga ng mga Barangay city federation president Irene Ong.
Gonzalez said the COA’s findings cast a cloud of doubt on Treñas’ governance of city hall for nearly a decade.
Treñas and Gonzalez used to be political allies when the congressman was the city mayor from 2001 to 2010.
In the 2010 elections, however, Treñas severed his ties with his political patron Raul Sr. (Gonzalez’s husband), and ran for congressman against the Gonzalez couple’s son, then Iloilo City’s reelectionist congressman Raul Gonzalez Jr.
Raul Jr. was defeated./PN
