The mayors of Bacolod and Iloilo, the two highly urbanized cities in Western Visayas (Region 6), have reaffirmed their cooperation for regional development after netizens seemed to pit them against each other in terms of their city’s economic progress and other aspects.
“I admire Iloilo City. In fact, Mayor Jerry Treñas is my idol. We’ve been friends for some time and I look up to him as a mentor and a yardstick of leadership and initiative,” Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, the chairman in waiting of the Regional Development Council 6 (Western Visayas), said on Thursday.
In response, Treñas said, “The development of Bacolod is important to the region. Iloilo City will always be supportive of all its developmental efforts.”
Social media reactions were triggered when Treñas was quoted reacting to Benitez’s statement during the 43rd Masskara Festival last month, where the Bacolod mayor was supposed to have said that Bacolod is already ahead of Iloilo.
Earlier this week, media reports quoted Treñas as saying, “We will continue to be the lead city in Region 6. We will continue to be the champion in all events in Region 6. And we will be the best in Region 6.”
This prompted a response from Benitez, who is under isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on Monday.
Benitez quipped that if there is one aspect where Bacolod is ahead of Iloilo, it is this city’s younger and better-looking mayor.
“Kidding aside, we are proud of Bacolod’s recovery so far. We just had a very successful Masskara Festival, which boosted local consumption. The strong wind in Bacolod is blowing towards economic progress,” he said.
During the Masskara Festival’s Media Night, Benitez mentioned that a major mall and hotel in Bacolod have higher sales compared to their counterparts in Iloilo and that a multinational food and beverage has a higher market share in Bacolod as well.
Bacolod and Iloilo are considered twin cities for their proximity to each other and for sharing the same language, Hiligaynon.
From Bacolod, Iloilo is just more than an hour’s travel by boat.
In 2010, the former mayors of the two cities signed a twin-city agreement to share best practices and collaborate on promotions. (PNA)
