Iloilo City chooses women for top 3 elective posts
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WOMEN POWER. Iloilo Rep. Julienne Baronda (center), Vice Mayor-elect Lady Grace Julie Baronda (right) and Councilor-elect Sheen Marie Mabilog (left) after being proclaimed on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) in Iloilo City. They will be joining forces with Mayor-elect Raisa Treñas-Chu in serving the city for the next three years. (PNA photo by PGLena)
ILOILO CITY — Women leaders will run Iloilo City’s three highest elective posts for the next three years, the first time in the history of this local government unit.
The Iloilo City Board of Canvassers on Tuesday proclaimed reelected Lone District Rep. Julienne Baronda, Mayor-elect Raisa Treñas-Chu, and Vice Mayor-elect Lady Grace Julie Baronda.
Rep. Baronda will serve her third term; Treñas-Chu will succeed her father, Mayor Jerry Treñas; and Lady Grace will take over the post of Jeffrey Ganzon.
In an interview, Rep. Baronda said that women can be tough but have soft hearts and are always ready and willing to serve.
“This is also an opportunity for us to inspire other women that they can be like us,” she said.
“Before, public servants were mostly male, but now we are here to serve. To all women with a passion to serve, you can still do it,” she noted.
During her last term as a member of the House of Representatives, she said she wanted to pursue her proposed economic zone for Iloilo City.
She also intends to increase the bed capacity at Western Visayas Medical Center from 720 to 1,000 in preparation for becoming a cancer, lung, and kidney specialty hospital.
The lawmaker also aims to add evacuation centers and create more job opportunities.
For her part, Mayor-elect Treñas-Chu believes being a mayor entails a big responsibility, but the direction is always for the betterment of Iloilo City.
“Election is over. Let’s get to work. Our city is on exponential growth — the top two in economic development in the whole Philippines,” she said.
She added that her three priorities are livelihood programs, improved health care services in district health centers and mega health centers, and education, particularly free college education.
She plans to expand the Iloilo City College.
Meanwhile, Vice Mayor-elect Baronda said among her priorities as presiding city council officer is to push for a review of the city ordinance increasing the real property tax in Iloilo City.
“Rest assured, we will work together for the benefit of Iloilo City,” she said.
Meanwhile, in Iloilo province, the provincial board of canvassers also proclaimed the winner for the vice-gubernatorial seat, Anilao Mayor Lee Ann Debuque.
She will be working with Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., who also received a fresh mandate for his last term.
Defensor personally picked Debuque as her running mate./apl/abc
