Iloilo Mayor Jerry Treñas issued an executive order Friday, June 23, declaring Acting Bacolod Mayor El Cid Familiaran persona non grata for the “uncoordinated and poorly planned” transfer of Badjaos to his city.
He said about 80 Badjaos, also known as sea gypsies, from Bacolod City arrived at the Dumangas port on Wednesday and are now roaming the streets of Iloilo City.
Treñas in EO 039, Series of 2023 said Familiaran is “undesirable and unwelcome in the City of Iloilo”.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez , who is out of the country, in a statement issued Friday said the Bacolod City Anti-Mendicancy Task Force received a complaint from a security guard at a warehouse at the Bacolod Reclamation Area on the presence of the Badjaos on Wednesday.
The task force in coordination with the barangay captains of barangays 2, 8, 10 and 12 and Police Stations 2 and 6, rounded up around 80 Badjaos, he said.
“After being interviewed and evaluated by our Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD), majority of these families requested that they be sent to their home places (in Mindanao). Acceding to their request, the City assisted them in going home by paying for their transportation fare via roro vessel,” he said.
Due to the large number of families that were handled by the Task Force, it failed to properly coordinate with the province of Iloilo regarding the arrival of these families from Bacolod, Benitez added.
“With this, I would like to express my sincere apologies to the local government of Iloilo and to Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas for this blunder. Rest assured that we will not make the same mistake again in the future as we value the harmonious relationship between the cities of Bacolod and Iloilo,” Benitez said.
Treñas said he accepts the apology of Benitez but is still sending all the Badjaos back to Bacolod.
“I value very much the harmonious relations of both our cities and I have never ever done anything to destroy the same in my long years of public service since 1986,” he said.
Treñas, however, did not withdraw his executive order declaring Familiaran persona non grata.
Familiaran, in a post on his Facebook page in response to Trenas, said “respect begets respect! tani nag investigate ka anay antes ka nag pulok pulok! (you should have investigated the matter before becoming frantic).”
He lost his high respect for Treñas because he did not even investigate the matter before declaring him persona non grata and calling him names, Familiaran said.
Familiaran in media interviews on Thursday had apologized to the Iloilo local government units for the Badjaos disembarking at the Dumangas Port, saying the Bacolod city government had no intention of making Iloilo a dumping site.
He said the Bacolod DSSD personnel had lapses, they did not coordinate with the Iloilo officials and his office when the Badjaos boarded a roll-on-roll-off vessel Wednesday.
The Badjaos had agreed to board a roll-on-roll-off vessel from Bacolod Wednesday night to return to their homes in Mindanao but reneged on their commitment and disembarked in Dumangas, he said.*