ILOILO City – Vice Mayor Julie Grace “Love-love” Baronda is pushing back against what she calls the “creeping encroachment” of executive offices into the Iloilo City Legislative Building, warning that a lack of dedicated space could hamper the City Council’s ability to do its job.
Baronda confirmed reports that police officers and lawyers visited a contested third-floor office space in the legislative building — an area she wanted earmarked for council use but which, according to her, is has been reassigned to the Office of the City Agriculturist by the executive department.
“Actually, I didn’t witness it, but I received a call saying that police and lawyers were sent to an office on the third floor,” Baronda said.
She explained she wanted to clean and prepare vacant spaces in the building to accommodate the growing needs of the Sangguniang Panlungsod.
“All offices that could be cleaned, I had them cleaned ahead of time with the intention of occupying them, because we are really short on space. We don’t have enough offices,” she said.
However, she later learned that the same space has already been reassigned by the mayor’s office through Memorandum Order No. CMO-2025-139-G dated June 11, 2025.
The memo, addressed to then-Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon and other city officials, cited Section 455(b)(1)(ix) of the Local Government Code, giving the city mayor authority over space allocation in city-owned buildings.
Baronda insisted she had no prior knowledge of the reassignment.
She expressed concern that the City Council’s legislative operations could be affected by the lack of space for committee hearings, staff, and public consultations.
“We’re really lacking space, for committee hearings, for our employees, for councilors’ activities. For instance, the SP Secretariat alone has more than 80 employees, but the current offices can only accommodate about 30,” she pointed out. “Where will the rest go? This affects their productivity.”
In their recent meeting, Baronda said, councilors supported her proposal to maximize the building for legislative use.
“They agree that the Legislative Building should be used for legislative functions, especially committee hearings,” she said.
She hopes to repurpose the disputed third-floor space into a conference room and receiving area for constituents.
“If that third-floor room is given to me, I’ll turn it into a conference room and visitor lounge for those who have concerns and needs help,” she said.
Despite the friction, Baronda remains hopeful that Mayor Raisa Treñas will see eye to eye with her on the issue.
“I believe Mayor Raisa will understand me. She’s a woman, and I know she knows how to take care of people, and I want to do the same for the council and our employees,” she said./PN
