RETURNED. Seventy-seven Badjaos rescued in Iloilo City and the municipality of Dumangas board a roll-on, roll-off vessel at the Dumangas Port going back to Bacolod City on June 24, 2023. Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said on Monday (June 26) the local government will not allow Badjaos to stay in the city because they have no jobs. (PNA photo courtesy of Jerry P. Treñas FB page)
ILOILO CITY – The city government here will continue to gather the remaining Badjaos, part of the group of 80 Indigenous Peoples who arrived at the Dumangas Port in Iloilo province last week, for them to be returned to Bacolod City and eventually to Zamboanga, their place of origin.
“We will not allow them to come here because they do not have work,” said Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, in an interview on Monday. The search for the other Badjaos is ongoing.
Treñas said the Badjaos have become street mendicants in Iloilo City but are known to sometimes resort to violence when no one gives them alms.
The city government in coordination with the municipality of Dumangas in Iloilo province transported 77 Badjaos back to Bacolod via a roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) vessel from Dumangas on June 24. The Badjaos will then head to Dumaguete on their way to Zamboanga.
Forty-nine of them were rescued from Iloilo City while 28 were from Dumangas. They were accompanied by two personnel of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) and five from the municipal SWDO of Dumangas with the Philippine Coast Guard serving as marshal.
The Badjaos' travel was also coordinated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to ensure their travel to Dumaguete until they boarded a RoRo bound for Zamboanga.
The transport of Badjaos from Bacolod City to Iloilo City without proper coordination last week has resulted in the declaration of Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran as persona non grata by the local government here.
Treñas, in his message during Monday’s flag ceremony, said he was thankful that the issue has ended.
“As a Christian, we will always forgive if forgiveness is being asked for,” he said, adding that until now he has not heard of Familiaran issuing an apology. (PNA)
