By Francis Allan L. Angelo

ILOILO City Mayor Jerry Treñas will not cross swords with lone district Rep. Raul T. Gonzalez Jr. whom he will challenge in the 2010 congressional race in the city.

Treñas refused to react to Gonzalez’s statement questioning the mayor’s motivation to run for the city’s lone congressional seat.

Gonzalez said he was wondering why Treñas attributed his decision to God’s will after a period of deep discernment.

“I have not heard my friend who followed his own path include the name of God in his previous speeches. But now he is invoking God already when he announced his decision to run for congressman,” the congressman said.

Gonzalez also rapped Treñas for being impatient which fragmented their group’s unity. He said the mayor could have waited until he completes his last 3-year term as congressman for the sake of the city’s development.

Treñas said he does not want to directly confront or fire back at Gonzalez as it is not his habit to speak ill of people.

But the mayor showed an image of the Virgin Mary and a rosary tucked behind his table nameplate to prove his religious devotion.

“You don’t hear me speak anything against anybody. I don’t want to engage in such things,” Treñas said.

Treñas decision to run, which he also attributed to popular sentiment, cut his alliance with the Gonzalezes and Partido Lakas Kampi.

The mayor said he will resign from the administration party as he cannot expect to be chosen as its standard bearer under the principle of equity of the incumbent.

Presidential Political Adviser Gabriel Claudio said they hope to prevent Treñas from leaving the party despite declaring his intention to run against Gonzalez.

Claudio said in an interview with Bombo Radyo that Treñas and Gonzalez are valuable members of the party.

“As much as possible, we want both of them to stay with Partido Lakas Kampi because they are important personalities in the group. As long as Mayor Treñas has not tendered his resignation from the party, we believe we can make him stay,” Claudio said.

Claudio said PLK is set to decide who between Chief Presidential Legal Adviser Raul Gonzalez Sr. and Presidential Assistant on Waters Lorenzo “Larry” Jamora will be the party’s mayoral bet in the city.

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