Political will, cooperation did it for Iloilo City: Jed
Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog said the gold and bronze awards won by Iloilo City in the prestigious 2010 International Awards for Liveable Communities (Livcom) in Chicago, Illinois, USA was a result of the city government’s political will and the people’s cooperation.
The city clinched the gold award for its Iloilo River Development Project. A bronze, meanwhile, was awarded to Iloilo City in the Whole City Category E for liveable communities with over 400,000 people.
“We were able to impress the judges of the work we’ve done to take good care of our river, foremost of which is our political will to remove all illegal structures, fish pens and dwellers along the riverbank,” the mayor, who just arrived from his two-week trip to the United States, told City Hall employees in yesterday’s flag-raising rites.
Mabilog said he learned a lot from the LivCom experience especially on how to improve programs and projects based on suggestions and inputs from the jury.
“This is not an ordinary award, this is an international distinction. We got this because it is our very dream to make our place a liveable city in the planet,” he said.
Mabilog said the international jury composed of environmental and landscape management professionals knew that the Iloilo River was a source of life of the city in the past and is also used as a main port.
He commended the City Environment and Natural Resources Office, City Planning and Development Office and the City Tourism and Development Office for implementing the initiatives and projects that brought back the glory of Iloilo River.*
