ILOILO City – Once allies, now bitter foes, former mayor Jerry Treñas and Cong. Julienne Baronda clashed in a war of words, each issuing public apologies laced with blistering accusations as they traded blame over failed projects and poor governance in the city.
Treñas, in a strongly worded Facebook post, stated: “I sincerely apologize to all Ilonggos for endorsing Julienne ‘Jam-jam’ Baronda for congresswoman in 2019. At that time, the two individuals I initially offered to run declined, and she was the only one willing to take the challenge. With my endorsement and the support of our allies, she won.”
He added, “What I did not foresee was that she would become known, as even the President himself declared, as the ‘mother of delayed and palpak projects.’ Today, the truth is painfully clear: many projects were either left unfinished, poorly implemented, or never even started.”
Treñas cited specific projects, saying: “Among these are the P200-P300-million sports complex in Jalandoni Memorial High School, the P300-million Budburan Mansaya Creek project, the P100-million Arevalo multipurpose building, over P500-million worth of uncompleted multipurpose buildings across the city, the unserviceable DepEd school buildings, and now, the over P1-billion worth of constructions along our waterways, structures that worsened flooding in our communities and tragically contributed to the loss of lives, including a child in the city and another victim in Oton.”
“These funds were not gifts. They were borrowed by the national government to finance our General Appropriations Act, debts that every Filipino today and for generations to come will continue to pay,” he said.
“For this grave mistake in judgment, I offer my deepest and most humble apology to all Ilonggos for having endorsed and supported Jam-jam Baronda in 2019,” Treñas concluded.
In a fiery counterstatement, Baronda hit back. A statement released by her office to the press read: “I owe you, my beloved Ilonggos, a painful but necessary apology — not for serving you, but for once having believed in and supported former mayor and congressman Jerry Treñas since my SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) days. I regret ever giving him my trust. For decades, he has failed our city. He has abandoned our people to floods, buried us in debts, and crushed us further with his heartless 300% increase in real property tax.”
She rejected Treñas’ apology, saying: “An apology for empowering a woman leader who has consistently delivered in Congress is misplaced. What truly deserves an apology are the burdens and failures left behind after more than 30 years in power.”
Baronda listed her grievances against Treñas: “A 300% increase in Real Property Taxes that weighs heavily on families, businesses, and retirees. Unfinished and delayed infrastructure projects on bank loans that drain public funds yet fail to serve their purpose. The absence of a comprehensive flood-mitigation plan, leaving our barangays underwater year after year.”
She added: “Treñas has mastered the art of cosmetic governance — polishing plazas while homes drown in floodwaters, mortgaging our public markets while leaving basic infrastructure to rot. He has obsessed over blocking the projects I bring in — projects meant to give real, lasting solutions to our city’s problems. This is not leadership. This is sabotage.”
Baronda further said: “What is most disturbing is that he continues to speak and act as if Iloilo City belongs to him alone. But Iloilo does not belong to one man or one family, it belongs to its people. And if apologies must be made, then he should be ready to apologize for choosing his daughter to succeed him, a decision that places family interests above public welfare and risks repeating the same cycle of failures.”
She vowed to continue her political fight, declaring: “To my fellow Ilonggos: I will not cower. I will not bow to the politics of fear and intimidation. I will fight — for truth, for justice, and for the future our children deserve.”
“Iloilo City deserves leaders who bring solutions, not excuses; accountability, not ownership; and real progress, not recycled mistakes. The time of deception is over. Iloilo belongs to its people. Yes, I will fight for you, my beloved Ilonggos, and I will not back down,” Baronda ended./PN
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(Fact Check: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not call Baronda the “mother of delayed and palpak projects,” as claimed by Treñas. During his August 13, 2025 visit to Iloilo City, the President inspected several infrastructure projects and later described some of these as “delayed” and “palpak.” He made no mention of Baronda.)*
