‘… happily, Iloilo City has not grown so haphazardly and so it has kept its charm — from parks and old houses and old buildings to a beautifully developed Esplanade.’
LATE Monday afternoon, I boarded a PAL flight to Iloilo city, the bustling metropolis that is the center of economic, socio-cultural and maybe even political action in all of Western Visayas (aka Region 6). I had a meeting with the Hon. Jerry Trenas (the workaholic mayor of the city) the next day, and rather than taking the 4 a.m. first flight which is almost never late but can be taxing to an almost-senior citizen, I chose to arrive a few hours earlier, in order (I reason out) to beat jet lag and be able to relax and prepare.
Well, after taking off from NAIA 2 on time, our PAL flight (PR 2145) had to navigate through thick rain clouds even at 30,000 feet (I know as I was checking my altitude app on my iPhone) and from Mindoro all the way to Iloilo City it was like rock and roll in the sky.
I always take window seats so I can look out but on this flight you couldn’t see the ground — except for ultra-brief moments — due to the very thick clouds; and even when we were just 600 feet above ground level we were still cutting through them.
But yes, we landed safely (I was able to write this, yes?) and on time (so far, only one PAL flight I’ve flown on has been late by more than 15 minutes and this was due to the weather) and so I got to my hotel to rest and relax and prepare for the Tuesday meeting with Mayor Jerry.
I’ve been to Iloilo City countless times — as a member of the Collegian accompanying then UP President Edgardo Angara to the opening of the UP Visayas at Miag-ao; as an employee of Enrique Zobel who for a time had an aqua farm in Capiz and who let me fly in and out of Iloilo rather than Roxas City; as a Coke employee who happily escorted our PBA players to events in the city and other LGUs, and even now as one working in a mining and RE firm.
Over the years I’ve seen the city transform itself — I remember the old SM downtown and the old airport that is now a Megaworld development, and the Sarabia and Del Rio hotels that have had to cede space to a Seda, a Richmonde and a Courtyard by Marriott. But happily, Iloilo City has not grown so haphazardly and so it has kept its charm — from parks and old houses and old buildings to a beautifully developed Esplanade.
I’ve also noticed that monuments of Jose Rizal in the various plazas show him not only standing alone but pointing, and Mayor Jerry half-jokingly told me that Rizal in Plaza Libertad actually had his back turned to the San Jose Church while pointing to the Masonic Lodge on the other side.
The Lacson mansion next to the City Hall is a gem but its roof is damaged and I hope the family would find a way to preserve it, even make it a museum of sorts. It could be another example of why Iloilo City has so much charm and character that no global city can match.
Before I left City Hall, Mayor Jerry told me he was reviving six city plazas and it struck me that someone should put up an ESG award for LGUs that do best in preserving green spaces.
For sure, Iloilo City will be a contender!
