The roadmap for Iloilo City
First of two parts
In a front page banner headline, "World-Class Fest, Iloilo"s Dinagyang set to conquer New York", this Easter, report says:
The "city that never sleeps" will get a taste of the world-famous Dinagyang Festival. This city"s premier festivity has been invited to perform in New York City during the Philippines" Independence Day celebration there this June, said Mayor Jerry Treñas. A New York Dinagyang performance may just be what Iloilo City needs to further promote this central Philippine metropolis, and attract more tourists and investors.
It is still Dinagyang"s golden moment as the Technical Working Group of the Multi-Sector Coalition for Iloilo City or MuSCIC prepares for a Report on the Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA) Certification Program and Forum.
It was also Dinagyang"s successful partnership with the Iloilo City Government that catapulted the city to become one of the Dream Cities of ISA. It was this public-private collaboration story which made way for Iloilo City"s entry to the public governance scorecard of the Institute for Solidarity in Asia.
Looking back, it has been quite some time since Iloilo City became a Highly Urbanized City in 1981, but she was never been considered as one of the more important destinations for investment and tourism. She was merely dismissed as one of those laid back southern cities, never heard of having something great going on with it; nothing exciting about it. Except probably with a few who knew that it is an old city; not everyone knows it was once a center of trade and commerce long before the other cities were making waves. And that it was the original Queen City of the South!
Iloilo became a city in 1893 under the Spanish Law, then reverted to municipality status in 1898 under the Americans Regime and became a chartered city again in 1937. It was declared a Highly Urbanized City in 1981 by virtue of classifications under the Local Government Code of 1974.
It is disheartening to note that while other cities were making progress, improving their economies, Iloilo City remains sleeping; too content, not hungry for greater glory. Blame it on the parochial nature, on the greed, apathy or indifference of some people in society, but the city has its potential strengths waiting to be harnessed..
And then things change! Tired of the old ways, of being left behind; and inspired by the success stories of other metropolis, seventy two (72) of our local residents heeded the call to get their acts together. In 27 July 2005, this Multi Sector Coalition for Iloilo City (MuSCIC), through the intervention of the Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA) formulated the vision for Iloilo City to become a Premier City by 2015.
The charter statement
MuSCIC came up with a charter which states: We shall be a leader in the practice of participatory governance that will speed up and sustain growth and development, in order to open up more and better opportunities for all.
We shall constantly be upgrading our standards of education, ethics and transparency in government. We shall significantly expand and improve our infrastructure, thereby securing a dynamic, safe, peaceful and healthy environment conducive to learning, sports and eco-cultural tourism.
We shall move forward while being fully dedicated to the preservation and further enrichment of our cultural heritage.
With this charter statement, we have chosen these core values:
We are a city that thrives deeply conscious of our accountability to God; centered on family and community; with a commitment to efficiency and excellence; nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit and good governance; and founded on integrity and a responsive citizenry. (To be continued)