Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Monday, July 3, that he is appealing to Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas to withdraw his declaration of Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran as persona non grata.
Treñas issued an executive order on June 22 declaring Familiaran persona non grata for the arrival of 80 Badjaos from Bacolod City in Iloilo City.
The Bacolod City government was sending the Badjaos back to Mindanao but they instead disembarked at the Dumangas port.
Treñas blamed Familiaran, who was acting Bacolod mayor at the time, for the “lack of coordination” in the transfer to Badjaos that caused them to instead end up in Iloilo.
Benitez, who was abroad at the time, apologized to Treñas for the incident.
“I have expressed concern that maybe he can recall his declaration of the vice mayor as persona non grata. Technically, there were lapses done that were not the vice mayor’s doing,” Benitez said at a press conference at the Bacolod City Government Center on Monday.
Benitez said he was still waiting for Treñas reply.
Benitez stressed the need for a program to find a total solution to the nomadic culture of the Badjao community to provide them with better lives in their hometowns.
He noted that their coming to Bacolod and other parts of the country and being sent home has been a cycle that has been happening for years.
The Badjaos are known for begging on the streets of the places they arrive at.*