Inquirer Town Hall series focuses on Iloilo economy

ILOILO CITY—Is Iloilo’s booming economy sustainable or is it just dependent on its political leaders, one of whom is Senate President Franklin Drilon?

This was among the questions raised during the forum,  Inquirer Town Hall: Voices of the Visayas, held on Thursday at the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) Cinematheque.

Dubbed “Iloilo Boom: Model or Mirage?” the forum was part of the Inquirer Group’s preparation for the second presidential debate in Cebu City set for  Sunday.

Another forum will be held in Cebu City on Friday tackling the political landscape of Cebu province, which has the biggest voting population in the country with 2.7 million.

The Iloilo forum was  hosted by the UP Alumni Association (Iloilo chapter) and  attended by about 60 students of Central Philippine University, University of San Agustin, West Visayas State University and UPV.

John Nery, editor in chief of Inquirer.net, moderated the two-hour forum also attended by teachers, journalists and leaders of community organizations.

OFW remittances

Joemarie Agriam, immediate past Western Visayas governor of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attributed Iloilo’s continued growth mainly to remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs)—foreign remittances of Ilonggo OFWs reached P12 billion in 2012.

Agriam said OFW remittances boosted the real estate industry as seen in fast-growing subdivisions and construction of large houses.

But he said there was still a need to strengthen the local economic base especially by enhancing small and medium manufacturing.

Government efficiency

Engineer Gilberto Altura, chief economic development specialist of the National Economic Development Authority office in Western Visayas (Neda-6), said indicators showed Iloilo City performed well in many areas and was among the country’s top 10 cities in terms of competitiveness.

For instance, Iloilo City ranked the highest in government efficiency last year among 142 cities.

But he said there was a lot of room for improvement in terms of, among others, economic dynamism and infrastructure support. He cited the Cities & Municipalities Competitiveness Index Survey.

Risks of urbanization

Rhodella Ibabao, faculty member of the UPV College of Management, said that amid the economic development, there was also a need to focus on risks brought by urbanization.

While there were indicators that the city was doing well in many aspects, she said there was still a need to come up and agree on indicators—especially nonquantifiable ones—to determine if Iloilo could really be a development model.

Amid rapid growth, there is a need to focus on cultural heritage conservation efforts, according to architect Manuel Tingzon Jr., vice chair of the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Council.

The urban poor group, Kaisog, said the massive infrastructure and development projects had not benefited informal settlers, small fishermen and vendors.

According to Vivian Asong, chair of Kaisog’s Metro Iloilo chapter, informal settlers affected by road widening and other development projects should be provided with adequate housing and livelihood assistance.

Cebu forum

The Cebu leg of the Inquirer Town Hall Visayas series on Friday will have a different tack.

Entitled “Whose ‘Country’ is Cebu?” that forum will discuss the political landscape of the province.

Friday’s guests will include Cebu Rep. Ace Durano, who is the campaign manager of presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe, and former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña of Bando Osmeña-Pundok Kauswagan, an ally of Liberal Party presidential candidate Mar Roxas.

Other panelists include Toledo City Mayor John Osmeña, a supporter of Vice President Jejomar Binay, and  two from the camps of presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte—lawyer Raymond Aquino and John Delfino, a campaign/branding specialist.

The Cebu forum,  in partnership with the Coalition for Better Education, will be held at the Center for Teacher Excellence on the Cebu Normal University campus along Osmeña Boulevard.

Some 100 students, teachers and supporters of political parties are expected to attend the Cebu forum, which will be held a day before the Visayas leg of the presidential debate on Sunday at the University of the Philippines Cebu.