Iloilo City rolls out 40-day celebration to mark its 80th Charter Day
THE CITY of Iloilo, one of the country’s fastest growing urban centers, marks another milestone as it observes its 80th Charter Day in a month-long event filled extravaganza.
Themed “Celebrating 80 years of Ilonggo Culture and Pride,” the 40-day celebration kicked off last July 17 and concludes on Aug. 25, a special non-working day based on Proclamation No. 253 by President Rodrigo Duterte.
“We have seen the recent development and growth in the city especially on infrastructure. We are hoping to position ourselves to be a local government unit that is globally competitive and a premier globally-competitive SMART city of excellence,” said Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.
SMART, the city’s vision, stands for Services, Manufacturing and agri-business, Arts and culture, Research and technology, and Tourism as priority potential areas of investments and inclusive growth.
He said the event is also an opportunity to showcase the strides the city has made over the decades in terms of governance, disaster resiliency, environmental protection, tourism and preservation of heritage and culture.
The local chief executive said that the city has embarked on a 10-point agenda which covers education, health and social services, anti-criminality and anti-illegal drugs, anti-corruption programs, jobs and livelihood, family and spirituality, infrastructure and utilities, environment, traffic management and sustainable land governance.
In recent years, Iloilo has been earning raves for its ability to balance preservation of cultural heritage and environmental protection with urbanization, as showcased in the restoration of the Iloilo River and the development of the River Esplanade.
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 for 2015 by the National Competitiveness Council.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mabilog was named in the Top 5 World Mayors in 2014 by the City Mayors Foundation, the only Filipino in the prestigious list.
The highlight of the festivities is the Iloilo City Charter Day Ball on Aug. 24 outstanding Ilonggos and employees of City Hall will be recognized.
The Manila Symphony Orchestra will hold concerts featuring Filipino and Western classics at the St. Anne Church in Molo and the Iloilo Convention Center on Aug. 25 and 26, respectively.
The capital of Iloilo Province, it first became a city under the Spanish regime with Queen Regent Maria Cristina bestowing it the title “La Muy Leal Y Noble Ciudad” (Most Loyal and Noble City) and later “Queen Regent’s City in the South.” It was chartered in 1937 under the Philippine Commonwealth and was later declared a highly-urbanized city.