Iloilo City: "Premiere City by 2015". Achievable or Not?

As a constituent of Iloilo City, I only want the best for my city as it directly affects our lives in so many factors, I often hear local government leaders talk about gearing up the city's aim to become a "Premiere City by 2015". Based on what I have seen personally, the city's economy has drastically become robust with private-public partnerships in the last seven years. The local government really seeks its way to come and sit down with private sectors to talk what improvements they could provide to Iloilo City as a whole.

Iloilo City is the top destination of students from all over Panay to be studying in college. Even some people from Mindanao and Central Visayas go here for educational purposes. We have a robust educational system and institutions that have been solid for years already and because of this, Iloilo City can become one of the top investment destinations for foreign and local investors. Our schools produce thousands of graduates from the Hospitality, Information Technology and Healthcare fields which are the booming industries at the present time.

When I get the chance to roam around Iloilo City and seeing these newly built establishments, It's totally different 13 years ago. I remember that during my high school days, Gaisano City and SM Delgado malls were the only establishments that most people went to during that time. As the years went by, another SM mall had been built in Diversion Road and a few other SM supermarkets had stood all over Iloilo and Robinson's Place also had been operational then. Where can you find a city outside metro manila that has five SM branches? Only in Iloilo, right? This only means that Iloilo has a progressive economy.

Iloilo as a very laid back place a few years back slowly became a busy metro. The hang out spots in Smallville Complex made the city more interesting for tourists and travelers. In my opinion, every person who would like to come here in Iloilo would think these two things: How does Iloilo look like and What are the things we can do in Iloilo? I would like the city to be Eco-friendly advocate by putting emphasis on coastal cleanliness specifically in Villa area and at the same time to put up zoning places for both daylight and night activities such parks and inland resorts or for simply beautifying the roads, public landmarks and boulevards. I know for sure, rarely do we find these in Iloilo, correct? Good thing, that the city government is really serious in investing projects for the Trenas Boulevard as more and more people come to the place and indulge themselves in recreational activities such as exercise, unwinding up by just simply walking through the boulevard and I could even see dancing sessions going on there which is truly refreshing to see.

If you are aware of the things that are going on within the city, you may think that everything is slowly but surely falling into places. The Coal Fired Power Plant has already been operational to accommodate the city's power needs. The aim of the local government to take over Metro Iloilo Water District's operation to provide solution for the poor water service within the metro. The long wait for MegaWorld Holdings construction at the old airport in Mandurriao has finally ended as it already started it's minor construction initiatives at the site. The multi-billion worth project is something that people should really watch out for as it will provide thousands of jobs to Ilonggos and even people from other regions. News states lately about Iloilo airport to accommodate direct international flights. After putting these pieces together in mind, I am confident and still crossing my fingers that Iloilo will indeed be a "Premiere City by 2015".

What do you think? I'd greatly appreciate your opinion so please comment below.