In Photo: Iloilo Convention Center at Iloilo Business Park

KNOWN for its succulent cuisine, heritage structures, the famed Dinagyang Festival and an overly hospitable people, there is an often overlooked fact in the checkered history of Iloilo City.

This urban hub in the Visayas is the first “queen city” in southern Philippines because of its prominent place in the political, economic and religious landscape during the Spanish era.

The capital of Iloilo province, it was given the titles “La Muy Leal y Noble Ciudad” (The Most Loyal and Noble City) and later “Queen Regent’s City in the South” by Queen Regent Maria Cristina, which seemed to be lost over the years.

The bestowed titles meant pride to some and disdain to others because of its colonial undertones. Then, there is also the counter-claim of Cebu’s being the true Queen City because of its phenomenal march to progress over the past few decades.

Despite these, it cannot be denied that Iloilo has been a center of influence, and will continue to be one more than a century later.

The city’s booming economy produced the Philippines’s first millionaires outside Manila during the 1800s, and such affluence is evident in the stately ancestral houses of the local gentry, which will dwarf the alleged controversial riverside “mansion” of its mayor, Jed Patrick Mabilog.

But far from an antiquarian city frozen in time, Iloilo is a bustling metropolis and a preferred location for business and leisure by the industry’s big players.

The city’s modern facet is represented by the Iloilo Business Park, a master-planned project in the old airport site in Mandurriao district where local and Manila-based major real-estate firms have established a foothold. The enclave is teeming with lifestyle retail shops and dining outlets, star-rated hotels and other vertical mixed-use development, such as business-process outsourcing and condominums.

The new airport, which has an international standard, has been transferred since to the towns of Cabatuan and Santa Barbara, about 20 minutes away.

The heart of this new township is the Iloilo Convention Center or Icon, opened in 2015, to make the city a new hub for MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions), a growing sector of the tourism industry.

This state-of-the-art facility is  on  a par with the country’s best and has hosted prestigious national gatherings, including portions of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Asean 50 Summit.

A river runs through it

THE city is dissected by its historic waterway, Iloilo River, where the legendary 10 Datus from Borneo landed in the 12th century and purchased Panay Island with a golden salakot or hat.

But the scenic meandering river succumbed to decades of urbanization and government neglect, making it a heavily silted waterway caused floodings during heavy rains.

In recent years, though, the river that ran through it would undergo a long-overdue rehabilitation  program, which will be a source of pride among the Ilonggos. Launched under the watch of Mayor Mabilog, a comprehensive river-revival program was set in place with the Iloilo River Esplanade as centerpiece, arguably the best of its kind in the country.

The multimillion peso program, which covers nine phases, includes river dredging, mangrove reforestation, landscaping of path for walking, biking, jogging and public open-air recreational spaces.

Designed by famed urban planner Paulo Alcazaren, the Esplanade was recently given the GantimPALA Excellence Award for Leisure by the Philippine Association of Landscape Architects (PALA) at the 2017 Landscape Architecture Festival.

The past is always present

ILOILO takes pride in its plethora of heritage homes of the city’s gentry, which are remarkably well-preserved and some of which are even inhabited by the descendants of the original owners. With the slogan “The Past is Always Present”, the city government has passed an ordinance providing tax incentives to encourage new generation owners to give these antiquarian gems a new lease in life.

A number of notable homes have retained their Old World grandeur, and have been given a new lease in life. Among these are Casa Mariquit, the mansion-turned-museum of former Philippine Vice President Fernando Lopez; and the Magdalena Jalandoni house, which has been converted into the Kasanag Well-Being Center, which offers traditional hilot massage.

A must-visit is Camiña Balay nga Bato, the 1865 Avanceña House, which is now a one-stop antique and souvenir shop, sinamay- and hablon- weaving room, and a restaurant for prearranged lunch of Ilonggo heirloom cuisine. Walk-in guests can sip its rich hot chocolate prepared using the traditional batirol.

The stately circa-1920s Nelly Garden, Iloilo’s “Queen of Heritage Houses” built in the tradition of Beaux Art of French chateaus, is another noteworthy mansion. The abode of philanthropist-statesman couple Don Vicente Lopez and Doña Elena Hofileña, it served as the colonial colonial-era’s watering hole for social events, a role that it performs up to the present.

JM Basa Street, or Calle Real in downtown, underwent an urban facelift to bring back its glory days. Aside from being a visual treat in their spruced-up facades, visitors can enter and marvel at the old buildings’ well-preserved state.

Guests can also do a Visita Iglesia of sort around historic churches, such as the Cathedral of the Our Lady of Purification, seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro; the Gothic-style Church of Saint  Anne in Molo, the San Jose de Placer at the city proper and the Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage Church in La Paz.

A multiawarded city

ENHANCING Iloilo’s urban charm is the numerous national awards it has racked despite being given the controversial “most shabulized” tag by President Duterte, an accusation local officials vehemently denied.

The city was named champion in the Livable Cities search of the Asian Development Bank, and first place in the government efficiency among highly urbanized cities in 2015 by the National Competitiveness Council, to name a few global accolades. Meanwhile, Mabilog was named in the Top 5 World Mayors in 2014 by the City Mayors Foundation, the only Filipino in the prestigious list.

The city government has also adopted the vision called SMART, which stands for Services, Maufacturing and agribusiness, Arts and culture, Research and technology and Tourism as priority areas for inclusive growth.

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Source : https://businessmirror.com.ph/2017/09/30/iloilo-reclaims-queen-city-title/