Good governance speaks louder: Treñas siblings keep Iloilo City moving forward
Iloilo City Mayor Raisa Treñas and Councilor Miguel “Migs” Treñas are highlighting their service record in the barangays as their response to what their camp describes as slanderous statements from challengers.
Mayor Treñas assumed office on June 30, 2025, succeeding her father, former Mayor Jerry Treñas. She is the first woman elected mayor of the city.
RAISA: 42 TO 45 PROGRAMS
In her second State of the City Address (SOCA) on Oct. 26, 2026, Mayor Treñas reported the expansion of the city’s RISE-to-ACTION Framework from 42 to 45 flagship programs. The three new programs are HAPLOS for hospital and laboratory assistance, MediSen Plus for maintenance medicines for senior citizens and persons with disabilities, and G NA YOUTH for youth empowerment and public service. The ATIPAN Center, which provides medical, financial, burial and other assistance, had served more than 34,000 beneficiaries as of Sept. 30, according to the mayor’s SOCA report as covered by RMN Iloilo.
Through ATIPAN-on-the-MOVE, the city government brought frontline services to four barangays, serving almost 4,000 residents in one month, Iloilo City Government Facebook page reported. The HAPLOS program had released P21.6 million to 1,149 beneficiaries as of Oct. 21, while the Maayo Ilonggo and Maayo Med free medicine programs had assisted more than 90,000 beneficiaries as of October, according to the same SOCA coverage.
The city also allocated P20 million for MediSen Plus, a program providing free maintenance medicines to senior citizens and persons with disabilities diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes, Iloilo City Hall Press Corps reported. On housing, more than 2,000 families were moving closer to housing access through four projects under the Pasilong program: Iloilo Residences Public Rental Housing Project in Barangay Sambag, Jaro; E4PH Condominium Complex in Barangay San Isidro, Jaro; Westville Residences; and Batiano Village.
RAISA: RISEABLE FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
The Iloilo City Government under Mayor Treñas opened the new RISEAble Center in La Paz, bringing specialized intervention services closer to children with special needs and their families. The city also launched three major programs under the RISEAble initiative: the RISEAble Early Intervention Program at centers in Barangay Taal, Molo, and La Paz Plaza for children aged 0 to 5 years old with neurodevelopmental disorders; the RISEAble Assessment Center in Barangay Taal, Molo, which offers free developmental screening and assessment, Draw-A-Person Test (DAP), and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2); and the Breaking Barriers for Young Adults with Disabilities (BBY) Training and Development Center in M.H. del Pilar St., Molo, for individuals aged 15 to 45 years old.
RISEAble Program Head Mx. Gab Umadhay said the center provides individualized intervention sessions and Special Education (SPED) classes tailored to the unique needs of each child, in an interview with Novie Guazo and Regan Arlos over RMN Iloilo. The center is staffed by licensed SPED teachers, psychometricians, and trained personnel who offer educational support, developmental assessments, and behavioral interventions, according to the same interview.
The City Government reported that since the opening of the first RISEAble Center in Molo in October 2025, nearly half of its learners have already been endorsed to regular schools under the Department of Education Iloilo City Division, said Umadhay.
The Press Corps earlier reported that the facility in Barangay Taal, Molo, inaugurated on Oct. 6, 2025, can accommodate up to 300 children and initially served 24 learners aged three to five, under the supervision of licensed SPED teachers.
MIGUEL: PASILONG CODE
Councilor Miguel Treñas is the author and sponsor of the Comprehensive Iloilo City Local Housing Code of 2026, or PASILONG Code, which institutionalizes the city’s flagship housing program, according to Miguel Trenas Facebook page. Under the PASILONG Code, the city government’s housing program will go beyond providing houses and relocation sites to include security of tenure, livelihood opportunities, skills training, community organizing, and access to education, healthcare, and other basic services.
The Code also establishes a system for selecting beneficiaries, with priority given to families living in danger zones, those affected by government infrastructure projects and court-ordered evictions, and members of vulnerable sectors, including persons with disabilities, senior citizens and solo parents.
MIGUEL: BPO RPT INCENTIVE ORDINANCE
Councilor Miguel Treñas is the principal author of the BPO RPT Incentive Ordinance of Iloilo City, designed to fuel the city’s Business Process Outsourcing industry’s growth and create job opportunities. Approved during the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s April 2 regular session, the measure grants a 100% exemption from real property tax payments for developers awaiting accreditation from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).
Under the ordinance, developers can avail themselves of the incentive for up to five years or until PEZA accreditation is granted, whichever comes first, News Express earlier reported.
MIGUEL: CORRECTION OF CIVIL REGISTRY ERRORS FOR INDIGENTS
Poor residents could soon correct clerical and typographical errors in their civil registry documents without paying the city’s P1,300 administrative fee after the Sangguniang Panlungsod approved on final reading an ordinance removing the charge for qualified indigent applicants, said the legislator’s pinned Facebook post.
The measure was authored by Councilor Jose Maria Miguel Treñas and seeks to eliminate a financial barrier that could prevent indigent residents from correcting errors in their birth, marriage and death certificates. Under the proposed ordinance, qualified indigent applicants will be exempted from the P1,300 administrative fee and will only need to present a certificate of indigency from their barangay to establish eligibility.
The measure covers corrections of typographical and clerical errors in birth, marriage and death certificates, subject to qualifications and requirements under applicable laws and the ordinance.
MIGUEL: ANIMAL WELFARE ORDINANCE
The Iloilo City Council unanimously approved an ordinance aimed at protecting and promoting animal welfare during its regular session on July 3, 2024, RMN Iloilo reported. City Councilor Miguel S. Treñas, the author of the ordinance, emphasized the need to establish a comprehensive legislative framework to regulate the companion animal trade, promote responsible pet stewardship, and monitor zoonotic diseases and other animal welfare concerns. Section 5 of the Iloilo City Animal Welfare Ordinance (Regulation Ordinance 2024-141 as amended by RO 2024-215) mandates the establishment of Animal Welfare Desks in all police precincts under the Iloilo City Police Office, each with a designated Animal Welfare Officer, based on Novie Guazo’s interview at Sapat, Turismo kag Pumuluyo.
The ordinance also ordered the establishment of a Pet Identification and Unified Data Storage with Microchip System. The City Council also approved the Iloilo City Animal Welfare Council and designated October of each year as “Animal Welfare Month” in Iloilo City.
JERRY TREÑAS: COACH AND FOUNDATION
Former Mayor Jerry Treñas graduated with honors from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law in 1982 and placed 11th in the 1982 Bar Examinations, with an average score of 88.325%, according to his public biography. He served as mayor of Iloilo City for three consecutive terms from 2001 until 2010, served as congressman of the lone district of Iloilo City from 2010 until 2019, and was elected again as city mayor in 2019, according to the same biography. For the second time in his two consecutive terms, Mayor Jerry Treñas was again the regional winner of the Civil Service Commission’s Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award.
Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said the city’s PCCI Hall of Fame recognition reflected continuity in policies and governance under former Mayor Jerry Treñas and the current administration, Capitol Press Corps reported.
AUTHENTIC AND UNASSUMING, SUPPORTERS SAY
Supporters and barangay residents who have encountered the siblings during barangay visits describe them as authentic and unassuming — a characterization their camp says is reflected in how they conduct themselves in public.
Mayor Treñas is regularly seen personally leading ATIPAN-on-the-Move in the barangays, speaking directly with residents, and joining program openings such as the RISEAble centers, according to coverage by various media outlets.
Councilor Treñas, for his part, is regularly cited in council coverage not for speeches about himself, but for the ordinances he authors — on housing, tax relief, civil registry corrections, and animal welfare. Their supporters say the siblings do not rely on elaborate staging or self-promotion. Instead, they show up in barangays, sit with residents, explain programs in plain language, and leave the results — services delivered, ordinances passed, and centers opened — to speak for themselves.
The Treñas camp said this approach is intentional: a continuation of the coaching of their father, former Mayor Jerry Treñas, who, they say, taught them that public office is public trust, and that authenticity is shown by presence, not by pronouncements.
