Introduction

The idea of revitalizing the Iloilo City CBD gained momentum when in October 1998, the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) sponsored a cultural heritage tourism workshop to introduce and discuss the possible adoption of the concept of cultural and heritage tourism in Iloilo City.

Attended by individuals from local and national government agencies, cultural institutions, universities, tourism-related businesses, and concerned citizens, the workshop identified local cultural and historical resources, and determined how best these can be marketed locally, nationally and internationally. Based upon the recommendations of the workshop and the increased interest for cultural and heritage tourism, the Iloilo City Government enacted in April 2000 Ordinance No. 00-054, otherwise known as the Local Cultural Heritage Conservation Ordinance (see Annex A). This created the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage Conservation Council (ICCHCC) which is composed of individuals from the arts and culture community, and charged with the responsibility over the city’s cultural heritage conservation and promotion.

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I. Introduction
Almost everywhere, especially in any major cities, water is a major concern. Water has to be continuously supplied at adequate quantity and the right quality fit for human use and for other economic purposes. In any development, water has become a main constraint, such that in some cases it was viewed as determinant for carrying capacities and development potential in a certain areas. The goal of securing the availability of water for an area is also coupled with concerns on its quality appropriate for the needs of the people. The water utility providers, such as primarily the Water Districts or the Municipal and Barangay waterworks in the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras (MIG) area are faced with the challenge of continuously supplying their service areas 24 hours a day with quality water. There are a several prevailing factors that need to be considered in terms of water quality. For residential needs, potability is a major requirement as governed by its physical, chemical as well as bacteriological properties. The commercial sector has similar level of quality preconditions which need to be fulfilled, more so with those establishments related to tourism. Tourist and guest should be provided with quality water for their needs during their stay and any problems that will arise will have direct bearing on the viability of the business in particular and to the industry in general. The industrial sector may have slightly lower water quality requirements but may require water to be supplied in larger volumes and continuously throughout any particular operation.

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I. Sta. Barbara-Iloilo City

A. Introduction

The opening of the new Iloilo Airport at Sta. Barbara-Cabatuan is expected to catalyze development and further hasten urbanization between the airport and Iloilo City. While this expected development of the area could bring about opportunities for increasing the area’s economic productivity as well as the revenues for the local governments concerned, it can also result in serious social and environmental consequences if these are not adequately addressed and planned for. For example, the existing road connecting the airport to Iloilo City will undoubtedly attract commercial development which, in turn, will attract job-seekers who will need housing and other basic urban services. If such services and related infrastructure needs are not provided for, the areas alongside the road can quickly deteriorate. If land use is not properly managed, the road itself can become congested and prime food production areas may be unnecessarily compromised. These consequences would be counterproductive to the optimization of the economic and job-generation potentials of the area, as well as of the entire Metro Iloilo-Guimaras region, given the regional role of the new airport.

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IntroductionSolid waste management is a major problem particularly in highly urbanized areas where large populations and concentrations of commercial, industrial and institutional establishments generate huge volumes of solid waste. This condition requires a system for storage, collection, transfer and transport, processing, and disposal which is consistent with sound and efficient environmental and health practices.
Improper and inefficient solid waste management, especially disposal, creates serious health and environmental hazards. Improperly managed disposal facilities increase the chances of spreading vectors of disease such as rodents and other insects; contribute to air pollution; endanger water resources; create blight and destroy the landscape; pull down property values and generally make adjacent lands useless for productive use.

In the case of Metro Iloilo and Guimaras, Local Government Code (LGC) or RA 7160 Section 33 can be a basis for any cooperative undertakings among local government units. Section 44 of RA 9003 mandates local governments to consolidate and coordinate efforts, services and resources for the purpose of jointly addressing common solid waste management problems along with establishing a common waste disposal facility.

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Executive Summary

Where Are We Now?

Significant population growth in the Metro Iloilo Guimaras (MIG) region was registered in recent years. The MIG region has approximately half a million population in 1990. Its population increased by 40 % or 200,000 ten years later. The increase is substantial. Metro Manila and its outlying areas grew by 29% or by 4 million people during the same period.

Between 2005 and 2020, population was estimated to increase by 200,000. Growth in the emerging large land development in Iloilo City is estimated to be 400,000 people or approximately the present size of Iloilo City, by 2010. Much of the growth in MIG in fact will be accommodated in the outlying areas, within the 20-30km radius from the central business district (CBD).

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1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Package of Assistance
1.1.1 Overview of the MIG-01 Project

In view of its capacity to stimulate economic growth quickly and to contribute to poverty reduction, tourism has been identified as a priority sector for development at the national and regional levels. However, while the tourism sector in the Western Visayas has been growing robustly, this has not been the case for the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras (MIG) region. The MIG region’s share of total Western Visayan tourism has been declining in recent years.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. INTRODUCTION

Metro Iloilo-Guimaras is located in the southeastern corner of Panay Island and comprises a total land area of 988.67 sq. km. The region – which includes Iloilo City; the municipalities of Leganes, Oton, Pavia, San Miguel, and Sta. Barbara; and the Province of Guimaras – has a total population of 807,444 residents[1]. In 2007, the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC) received a Package of Assistance (PoA), under the Philippines-Australia Local Governance Development Program (LGDP) to prepare an Integrated Tourism Strategy and Action Plan for the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras region.

The main Goal of the PoA is:

To develop the tourism sector in the MIG region to deliver local economic benefits to the participating LGUs.

In this context, the main Outcome of the project is expected to be:

Greater cooperation among local tourism sector stakeholders through better integration of activities and provision of supporting infrastructure, skills, and expertise, and the development of local tourism products and services to meet the needs of potential tourist markets.

This report presents the proposed Tourism Strategy for Metro Iloilo-Guimaras that resulted from the PoA. The associated Tourism Action Plan is discussed briefly in this document. However the full Action Plan is contained in a separate volume.

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1.1    Overview of MIGEDC

The Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC) is an alliance of the City of Iloilo, the Municipalities of Leganes, Oton, Pavia, Santa Barbara and San Miguel and the Province of Guimaras. It was formally established by Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo through Executive Order No. 559 signed on August 28, 2006 and was designed to help address the area’s emerging problems brought about by rapid urbanization and the spatial development challenges of tourism and economic development.

As a working and strategic alliance, the MIGEDC formulates, implements, coordinates, and monitors programs, projects, and activities that support the Mega-Region Economic Development Strategic Framework of the national government.

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METRO ILOILO-GUIMARAS (MIG) TOURISM 3-YEAR ACTION PLAN (2008-2010) Read more »

Deliverable 1: MIG Integrated Tourism Strategy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background
1.2 Overview of MIGEDC
1.3 Overview of Project Activities (Based on Workplan) / Methodology

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1.0   INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background

In a workshop conducted among a multi-sectoral group, tourism stakeholders composed of representatives from business, academe, local government and civil society identified the following as their Vision for Tourism in MIGEDC 2020:

Metro Iloilo and Guimaras is an internationally-recognized destination, known for its attractions that sustain its culture and environment and whole tourism industry shall contribute to the economic growth of all sectors of society

How ready is MIGEDC to attain its vision? Consultations with representatives from the tourism industry revealed a lack of preparedness of the region for tourists. Specifically, lack of tourism awareness, and poor environmental, transportation and heritage management were among the cited weaknesses of the area. An analysis of the root causes of these suggest that at the root of these weaknesses is a lack of HRD capability of both private and public sectors. Hence, a vital component of the MIG-01 project was to identify gaps and build the capabilities of critical tourism stakeholders.

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