Treñas refuses to recognize newly-installed ABC presidents
City Mayor Jerry Treñas will not recognize the three newly installed presidents of the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) of City Proper, Jaro and La Paz districts.
He said that he still recognizes the three ABC chapter presidents who were unseated by their fellow barangay captains allied with the Gonzalezes.
Treñas stressed ABC presidents, namely, San Agustin Barangay Captain Bobby Divinagracia (City Proper), Simon-Ledesma Barangay Captain Jonas Bellosillo (Jaro_ and Aguinaldo Barangay Captain Carlos Guarin (La Paz) were “illegally ousted.”
The three punong barangays are loyal allies of Treñas. Divinagracia is running for councilor under the ticket of the mayor. The ouster of the Treñas allies was designed barangay captains allied with the Gonzalezes after the former thrown their support to the mayor’s congressional bid.
They cited as reasons for the ouster of three ABC presidents the loss of confidence of their fellow punong barangays and lack of transparency.
Treñas stressed there is only one chief executive in the city and that is the mayor. His statement serves a strong signal to his political opponents that he still runs the affairs of the city government.
Divinagracia was replaced by Barangay Captain Romualdo Jalandoni of Barangay Hughes as ABC president of City Proper. Bellosillo was deposed by Buntatala Barangay Captain Love Joy Hosenilla as ABC Jaro president while Guarin was ousted by Ingore Barangay Captain Ernie Porral as La Paz ABC president.
In a text message, Gilbert Valderrama, chief of staff of Congressman Raul Gonzalez Jr., said Divinagracia filed his irrevocable resignation to the Liga ng mga Barangay on December 1, 2009.
Valderrama added that later on the same day, Divinagracia withdrew his resignation upon Treñas’s recommendation. It is unlikely for Divinagracia to say that he has no idea on the so-called election which put Jalandoni on the helm as ABC City Proper president, Valderrama said. Jalandoni is the vice president of the ABC City Proper.
Further, Valderrama said Divinagracia submitted his resignation on his own will and was not in any way coerced to do so.
The trio, Jalandoni, Hosenilla and Porral are supporters of Congressman Raul Gonzalez Jr. and Presidential Legal Counsel Raul Gonzalez Sr.
Treñas described them as “princes of a kingdom” (prinsipe sa ginharian). He said the ouster is a form of political harassment on the part of his political opponents. It is completely opposite from his style of politics as he is courting the barangay captains for their support and not coercing them.
Gonzalez Sr. is labeled by his opponents as “king” even before the Gonzalez-Treñas split.
The changing of guards of different ABC associations is expected to affect the preparations for the forthcoming Dinagyang celebration and Jaro Fiesta.
Usually, barangays which are covered by the food festival and staging areas and other activities collect part of the payment for kiosks and ticket sales as their share in giving security and cleanliness in the area.
In the celebration of Jaro fiesta, it is the mayor who has the authority to appoint whoever he wishes to run the Jaro-Agro Industrial Fair. Each barangay were given their shares in the proceeds collected from the activities aside from their target beneficiaries. The agro-fair lasts for more than a month.
