ILOILO CITY: The Venice of the Philippines

Iloilo City is blessed with a wonderful gift – the Iloilo River. This river is the catalyst for the changes in Iloilo especially its marine industry. This river will truly makes Iloilo the beautiful city.

ILOILO CITY: The City of Love

Being a regional Center of Western Visayas, Iloilo's night life is very much active. With the presence of different bars, restaurants and hotels, this city has been delivering one of a kind experienced every night time.

ILOILO CITY: The Queen City of the South

Iloilo City has been making noise in terms of creating pursuing it dreams to become a modern city. High-raised building is now on its way to invade the city, as its tag-line says “My City My Pride”..

ILOILO CITY: The Center of Western Visayas

Welcoming growth and being highly-urbanized city, Iloilo's business growth is fast and becoming enormous. The presence of different intuitions in the city is an indication of being one of the economic centers in the Philippines.

ILOILO CITY: The City with Finest Festival

Paraw Regatta is one of Iloilo's finest festivals. Aside from this festivity Iloilo is also well-known for its Dinagyang which dubbed as the best Festival in the Country.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

An Ilonggo Legacy

THE Paraw Regatta Festival is an embodiment of the excellent Ilonggo seafaring tradition.

“This is a legacy of our marine skills,” said Department of Tourism (DOT-6) regional director Edwin Trompeta.

He said the annual boat race among native outriggers separating the island of Panay from Guimaras has exemplified the Ilonggo seafaring tradition that has spread across the globe.
“More than 50% of Filipino seafarers who work in different ships abroad are from Iloilo,” Trompeta noted.

“Seafaring has been woven into our psyche and we should take pride in it,” Trompeta expressed.

However, he stressed there is a need for the younger generation to appreciate the essence of seafaring and how it continues to play a pivotal role in an archipelagic country.

Established by DOT as a festival in 1972, the Paraw Regatta mimicked the material and design of the paraw that carried the first Bornean settlers to Panay during the 13th century.

“Our forefathers utilized it to find a new home and is continued to be used to this day. It is a means of transportation and a tool in the fishing livelihood of those living in coastal areas,” Trompeta noted.

He also emphasized that the festival, which has been named as one of the country’s Best Sports Tourism events by the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP), is an awareness campaign on environmental preservation.

“The paraw does not use gasoline and is dependent on the natural wind,” Trompeta said.

As a festival, Paraw Regatta aimed “to develop the local tourism industry and preserve the paraw as a legacy from the earliest period of Ilonggo history.” It also wanted to instill sportsmanship among Ilonggos.

Monday, March 21, 2011

WVRAA MEET OPENS TODAY

Public-private partnership highlights reg’l sports event

ILOILO City – The Division of Iloilo has tapped as partners various groups and individuals for the smooth staging of the Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association (WVRAA) Meet that officially opens today.

Dr. Ma. Janelyn Fundal, secretary-general and co-tournament director, identified some venues of the games as SM City-Iloilo, Plazuela de Iloilo and Gaisano City Mall.

Other civic-minded persons and sports enthusiasts have extended material and financial support to the WVRAA Meet, the premier school-based sports event in Region 6.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Iloilo City now Business-Friendly’

BY JEZZA NEPOMOCENO

ILOILO City – Since last month when the city government started hastening the processing of business applications, it has not received complaints.


“This only show that our employees are effective in making the process short and fast,” said Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.


He ordered the City Business Permit and Licensing Office (CBPLO) to speed up the processing of business applications to only 15 days.


Mabilog commended CBPLO under Nilda Amatorio and urged the office to sustain the momentum.


This is meant to make Iloilo City business-friendly, he explained.


For years, the processing of business permits and other business-related documents took at least six months.


Mabilog said this discouraged prospective investors.


Should there be delays in the processing, Mabilog said,
an applicant can complain thru city government hotlines 300-0533 and 333-3533. The mayor said he will personally check the processing.

To further speed up the processing, Mabilog said, the city government will soon embark on “full computerization” – that’s when city government offices have finally settled at the new city hall in Plaza Libertad.


The city hall is still under construction.


“We will wait for the new city hall to be completed before we can proceed with the full computerization,” said Mabilog.


Most city government offices are temporarily located at the third floor of Robinsons Place Iloilo.


Early last month, Mabilog gathered businessmen to a meeting and told them that the city government would be hastening the issuance and renewal of business permits for their convenience.


He said he was putting in place a system similar to a one-stop shop that would complete the process within 15 working days only.


He asked for the cooperation of businessmen in making the project successful by bringing to his attention any delay in the processing of business permits.


Mabilog said this is part of his thrust to transform Iloilo City into a premier metropolis by 2015.

Iloilo City is the regional center of Western Visayas.


SOURCE:
Panay News

Saturday, March 12, 2011

New P710-M worth City Hall up by August

ILOILO City Government workers will start their first day of work in the new seven-storey City Hall building along Plaza Libertad starting August 25, 2011, said Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.

August 25 is also the Charter Day anniversary of Iloilo.

Mabilog met Friday with contractor FF Cruz Fraysinet and city fiscal managers on the construction status of the new City Hall building, which costs some P710 million.

The mayor said P450 million was first loaned from Land Bank of the Philippines. The contractor bid price was P386 million, while the city will again loan P260 million to fund the revised construction plan and to buy the many amenities such new furniture, air conditioning units, additional elevators and solar panels, among others.