“Youth has no age.” –Pablo Picasso
I am one of those people who expressed sadness after recently hearing about the “rift” between Iloilo City lone district Rep. Jerry P. Treñas and Iloilo City Mayor Jose Espinosa III has yet to be settled. They are two of the most dynamic and young city leaders and headed into a clash for the former’s congressional seat in the 2019 Philippine midterm elections.
“This is disheartening,” bemoaned a prominent member of the Iloilo City Trade Mission, who refused to be named because “both the young leaders are dear to me and I don’t want to preempt any ongoing political negotiations [among Iloilo City’s political leaders].”
The individual in question was referring to two former Iloilo City councilors, Dr. Nielex ‘Lex’ Tupas and Julienne ‘Jamjam’ Baronda.
Both are good friends and maintain a cordial relationship in and out of the political arena.
They also have a lot of common supporters and admirers who consider them Iloilo City’s Foghorn Leghorn and Chicken Hawk, or Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, as both are brimming with charisma and intelligence.
Additional rumors claimed if Treñas and Espinosa do not smoke the proverbial peace pipe soon “Tupas might run for congress under mayoral bet Treñas, and Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon; while Baronda might run for congress under Mayor Joe III and possibly, City Councilor R Leone ‘Boots’ Gerochi for vice mayor.”
If Baronda decides to pave the way for “graduating” City Councilor Joshua Alim, it is said there would be a battle of “three lawyers against a doctor, a lawyer, and a pastor.” The three lawyers being Alim, Joe III, and Gerochi, while the doctor is Tupas, the lawyer is Treñas, and the pastor is Ganzon.
Alim’s possible inclusion in Team Joe III would depend on the results of “negotiations” and whether the powerhouse Gonzalez faction (composed of Dr. Pacita Trinidad-Gonzalez, Dr. Marigold ‘Gold’ Gonzalez, and former Rep. Raul Gonzalez, Jr.) will intermingle with Team Joe III.
One of the Gonzalezes’ favorite incumbent city officials, City Councilor Plaridel Nava, who was part of the Iloilo City Trade Mission, is already “in.” Nava, the only city councilor in the entourage, confirmed he won’t be seeking a higher elective office when his term expires in 2019.
Meanwhile, a Baronda versus Tupas clash for the city’s lone congressional district would be a real blockbuster, predicted a City Hall bigwig who was also part of the trade mission.
“While Lex Tupas is extremely popular among the hoi polloi, Jamjam Baronda is also a darling of the young voters in the barangay,” they explained.
The city official, however, noted, “Money will play a major factor between [the] two extremely strong candidates for congressman.”
They added, despite Baronda, the daughter of retired city health officer, Dr. Nick Baronda, and former city councilor, Dr. Julie Baronda, being away from politics for quite a while, following the May 2010 debacle when she lost to Joe III for vice mayor, “She has successfully linked with some influential incumbent senators in Metro Manila and other well-oiled patrons in Mindanao.”
Baronda’s “loyal” youth brigades are still intact throughout the city’s 180 barangays and have been “maintained” by her younger sister, City Councilor Julie Grace ‘Love-Love’ Baronda, the City Hall official stressed.
Tupas, on the other hand, has been in the limelight, serving as National Youth Commission (NYC) executive director between November 2015 and May 2017.
His grassroots base is also solid and “growing” after being buttressed by his wife, Dr. Candice Alumisin-Tupas, who replaced him in the city council.
We expect all the comets and meteors to realign if Jamjam Baronda and Lex Tupas, both untarnished and very qualified, collide. Members of the young and intelligent electorate, which comprise the “thinking” voters in 2019, will definitely have a hard time choosing between two pristine and promising national figures.
It’s like being made to choose between Joan of Arc and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, both legends and highly regarded in their own right./WDJ