Iloilo City Councilor Sheen Marie Mabilog and Vice Mayor Lady Julie Grace Baronda have left it to residents to assess Mayor Raisa Treñas’ performance following her second State of the City Address (SOCA), raising the need to address daily economic concerns and prepare for El Niño.

Mabilog welcomed the awards received by the city but said the address could have placed greater emphasis on residents’ everyday struggles, including rising prices of basic commodities, electricity and water.

“Last July 2025, our inflation was 3.7 percent. Now, it is 7.8 percent, which means Ilonggos feel that electricity, water and food are expensive,” Mabilog said in an interview.

She said residents would have benefited from hearing concrete plans and directions to address these concerns.

Mabilog also said the city should have discussed preparations for the anticipated El Niño, stressing that solutions should be proactive rather than reactive.

Meanwhile, Baronda said residents were in the best position to grade Treñas’ performance because they directly experience the city’s conditions and challenges.

“The people who are suffering from the high prices of our commodities, the increase in taxes, traffic congestion, loss of jobs and even the other challenges that we are facing are in the best position to give a rating because they know the real situation of the City of Iloilo,” she said.

The vice mayor, however, expressed satisfaction with the achievements of the ICARE movement, particularly in strengthening the city’s disaster preparedness and resilience efforts.

Baronda recalled that she pushed for the establishment of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in 2014, when the office had yet to be institutionalized and lacked permanent personnel.

She said the city’s progress in disaster resilience reflected years of efforts, including legislative measures she authored while serving as a city councilor.

Baronda also left it to Treñas and her team to determine what further measures could be implemented to improve services and address Iloilo City’s challenges.IMT