Sourced online by Tracy Cabrera
Despite the Iloilo City Council stripping her of her legislative powers, Vice Mayor Lady Julie Grace ‘Love-Love’ Baronda has vowed to fight the ‘reign of tyranny’ of incumbent Mayor Raisa Treñas who has placed the city government in a stranglehold.
Currently, VM Baronda’s capacity as city official has reduced her role to presiding officer of the city council but she has been banned from submitting legislative proposals and participating in deliberations during the city council’s sessions.
This came following the October 21 decision of the Iloilo City Council’s majority bloc to adopt Opinion No. 95 of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) which pertains to Section 49 of the Local Government Code of 1991.
Section 49 states the vice mayor as “the presiding officer shall vote only to break a tie” and based on this stipulation, Baronda was stripped of her legislative powers. She also has no committee memberships.
Baronda decried the move as politically motivated by the allies of incumbent Mayor Treñas and her father, former Mayor Jerry Treñas, who still makes frequent appearances at the Iloilo City Hall.
It appears that the row between the mayor and her vice mayor has political motivation as Baronda is the younger sister of incumbent Iloilo City representative Julienne ‘Jam-Jam’ Baronda.
Treñas had cut political ties with Rep. Baronda when he initially wanted his daughter to replace her as congresswoman during the May 2025 elections.
“This is tyranny. They have a pattern of bullying me since last year,” the vice mayor enthused while accusing the Treñas administration of intimidation.
She cited one occasion when the mayor allegedly sent the police tighter after she and her staff were ordered to vacate their original office space that was later given to Treñas’ executive assistants who have non-elective positions.
