Treñas vs. Baronda: From Allies to Bitter Rivals
By Jed Queenny Cruz
Once strong allies, former Mayor Jerry P. Treñas and Congresswoman Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda are now locked in a fierce political feud, trading accusations over botched projects and failed governance.
For two election cycles (2019 and 2022), Treñas and Baronda stood side by side — endorsing each other, sharing strategies, and working under a united front. That alliance fractured in 2025, when Treñas stepped aside to let his daughter run for mayor, while Baronda sought reelection as congresswoman. Treñas later accused Baronda’s camp of backing rival mayoral bet Roland Magahin, calling it a betrayal and a violation of party trust.
Though both belong to parties allied under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration coalition, the rift widened despite attempts at reconciliation. Then-Speaker Martin Romualdez even brokered a compromise in 2024: neither side would challenge the other’s candidacies. Election day followed that deal — Treñas’ daughter won as mayor, and Baronda retained her congressional seat.
Months later, the truce collapsed. Treñas publicly apologized to Ilonggos for ever supporting Baronda, blaming her for “delayed” and “palpak” projects that President Marcos himself had flagged. He cited specific failures: the ₱200–₱300 million sports complex in Jalandoni Memorial High School, the ₱300 million Budburan Mansaya Creek project, the ₱100 million Arevalo multipurpose building, over ₱500 million in unfinished multipurpose halls across the city, unserviceable DepEd buildings, and more than ₱1 billion worth of controversial waterway structures that worsened flooding and caused deaths in Iloilo and Oton.
“These funds were not gifts,” Treñas stressed. “They were borrowed by the national government. Every Filipino today — and generations to come — will pay for them.” He ended with a stinging line: “I offer my deepest and most humble apology to all Ilonggos for having endorsed and supported Jamjam Baronda in 2019.”
Baronda fired back with her own apology — not to Ilonggos, but for ever supporting Treñas. “I regret ever giving him my trust,” she said. “For decades, he has failed our city. He has abandoned our people to floods, buried us in debts, and crushed us with his heartless 300% increase in real property tax.”
She listed grievances against Treñas: rising property taxes, stalled infrastructure financed by costly loans, and the lack of a flood-mitigation plan. She accused him of practicing “cosmetic governance — polishing plazas while homes drown in floodwaters” and of sabotaging projects she brought in to solve real problems.
Baronda went further, criticizing Treñas for grooming his daughter as mayor: “Iloilo does not belong to one man or one family. If apologies must be made, then he should be ready to apologize for placing family interests above public welfare.”
Declaring she would not back down, Baronda vowed: “I will fight — for truth, for justice, and for the future our children deserve. Iloilo deserves leaders who bring solutions, not excuses; accountability, not ownership; real progress, not recycled mistakes.”
