| A
formula to upgrade slums
Iloilo City, a bustling metropolis
in central Philippines, is home to 72,200
households. But 22 percent of the said figure
does not have a home to call their own.
Like any other cities in Asia, Iloilo City
has slum dwellers. A decade ago, houses
on stilts could be seen along the river
that snakes through it until they were demolished
to give way to development. And often, those
demolitions turned bloody as slum families
have put up resistance even if they were
promised relocation sites.
Families fear being relocated, saying they
are uncertain of what awaits them in an
area that’s far from where they work.
Also uncertain are the availability of electricity
and potable water.
Of late however, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry
Treñas have found a formula on how
to remove those fears and make slum families
embrace relocation – stakeholder participation
in city government planning.
“We federated all the urban poor
associations in the city and formed the
Iloilo City Urban Poor Council so the city
government can work closely with urban poor
communities,” Treñas told an
audience during the World Urban Forum in
Vancouver, Canada.
In a nutshell, Treñas says the participation
of urban poor communities is important in
coming up with a housing program that is
acceptable, doable and sustainable –
free from resistance and uncertainties.
The city government also created the Iloilo
City Urban Poor Affairs Office (ICUPAO)
as an answer to the need for a department
that would take care of the housing and
relocation needs of slum dwellers.
When Treñas became mayor in 1998,
16,000 families lived in slum communities.
Recognizing the need to upgrade their plight,
he instituted programs that will empower
them.
Eight year after, over half are now living
in relocation sites that the city has offered
for sale at very low terms and payable in
a long period of time.
Treñas’ efforts for the urban
poor in his city has caught the attention
of the international audience during the
conference that is held every two years
to examine the problems brought about by
rapid urbanization, among them slum expansion
and the need for housing.
Treñas, also the chair of the Metro
Iloilo Development Council, was one the
delegates to the World Urban Forum sent
by the Canadian Urban Institute, with funding
assistance from the Canadian International
Development Agency.
The Vancouver Sun, a leading newspaper
in British Columbia, even took notice of
how Treñas used the extra powers
that were devolved to local governments
as well as available legislation to protect
slums dwellers from eviction.
“There is no forced demolition in
Iloilo City. What we have is voluntary dismantling.
(Urban poor families) do it themselves because
they know that once they dismantle their
own houses, there are better relocation
sites waiting for them,” Treñas
told the forum “Achieving the Millennium
Development Goals: Slum Upgrading and Affordable
Housing.”
Prior to the implementation of voluntary
dismantling, a series of consultations and
social preparations was undertaken for the
urban poor so a win-win housing and relocation
program can be developed.
“Together with the city employees,
the communities themselves dismantle their
own houses and, with the support of the
city government, transfer to the relocation
site,” he adds.
The relocation sites he was referring to
used to be vacant city government lots which
it subdivided and offered for sale to slum
families. The city government also succeeded
in convincing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
to declared unused national government properties
as areas for socialized housing.
But despite the apparent success of its
slum upgrading program, the city still encounters
problems, topping them is the lack of funds
to finance development of relocation sites
to make them habitable.
“Local governments in the Philippines
shoulder the responsibility of taking care
of slum dwellers but most of us have limited
resources,” says Treñas. “If
more responsibility is given to local governments,
there should be corresponding resources
so we can fulfill our duties.”
RDC6 OKs
tourism action plan
 |
click
to download document |
"We got what you are looking for"
was how Department
of Tourism regional director Edwin Trompeta
presented the Western Visayas Tourism Action
Plan 2010 that got the unanimous nod of
the Regional
Development Council during its first
quarter regular meeting on March 11.
Trompeta says Western Visayas has everything
that the tourists, both foreign and local
are looking for, and the region is also
positioning itself as the festival capital
of the Philippines.
The RDC approval was in recognition of
the important role of tourism in the economic
development of Western Visayas and as an
important asset and enhancer of the quality
of life of the people.
The document was prepared by the DOT in
cooperation with the Regional Development
Council 6 and the Canadian Urban Institute
(CUI) so the region will have a common plan
that would serve as a blueprint for tourism
development.
Trompeta explains that the hub of the tourist
attraction in Western Visayas would still
be Boracay and the other provinces would
revolve around it.
Antique and Aklan province would be developed
as nature-based eco-tourism and adventure
sites. Capiz will be promoted along the
line of cutflowers, seafood, and marine
and adventure attractions. Negros Occidental
and Bacolod City will be for adventure,
culture and heritage tourism and as site
for meetings and conventions. Iloilo will
be marketed for its cultural heritage and
as venue for conventions, conferences and
meetings.
Trompeta says DOT intends to work on the
tourism support services along the lines
of policy and communication support. Target
markets will be both foreign and local markets.
He also revealed that they are targeting
the East Asia market like Korea, Japan,
Taiwan, China and Hong Kong, although presently,
the bulk of our tourists come from the North
Americas. Western Europe, Australia and
New Zealand markets will also be tapped.
The DOT director points out they are proposing
two taglines in marketing Western Visayas;
Festival Capital of the Philippines and
We've Got What You Are Looking For.
Philippine
Information Agency
Philippines
learns from Canada on economic alliance-building
“Public-private partnership”
stands out among the many features of local
economic alliance-building in Canada and
similar efforts in the Philippines must
employ the same so local economic alliances
can be built efficiently.
|
CUI
advisor Terrance Harvey Boutilier
stresses a point during his presentation
as his co-advisor Partricia MacPherson
listens. |
This was one glaring lesson extracted from
the Canada-Philippines Forum on Building
Local Economic Alliances, an activity hosted
by the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) in
cooperation with Iloilo City and the province
of Guimaras, last March 1.
While Philippine local economic development
initiatives have some features of private-public
partnership, there is still a need for integration
and stakeholder-ownership of the plans and
programs so they can be effectively implemented.
A successful private-public partnership
should bring the benefits of employment
creation, community wealth, tax revenue
for the local government, strengthening
of the local government’s competitive
advantage and a sense of professional pride,
says Terrance Harvey Boutilier, senior planner
for special projects of the City
of Kitchener in Ontario.
 Boutilier
and Partricia MacPherson, business development
officer of the City of Kitchener, were the
two CUI advisors who presented Canadian
cases during the forum, the hosting of which
had funding assistance from the Canadian
International Development Agency.
In particular, Boutilier shared cases on
Regional-City Planning Process in the Waterloo
Region of Southern Ontario, Business Improvement
Areas in the City of Kitchener and Heritage
Planning in Ontario. MacPherson presented
the cases of Regional Economic Development
in Canada: The Case of Waterloo Region in
Southern Ontario and Canadian Economic Development
Best Management Practices.
McPherson stressed that in local economic
development, three things are vital -- data
management, business attraction and business
retention. She also underscored, among others,
the need of making data collection a priority,
understand the community, preparation of
marketing strategy and materials, and identification
of local opportunities for clients, both
public and private.
Meanwhile, the planning process in the
Philippines was noted to involve too many
people, churning out so many plans that
are not linked to each other, explains Francis
Gentoral, CUI Philippines regional manager,
before the close of the forum.
Gentoral extracted lessons from the presentations
made by the two Canadian advisors and Philippine
planners on various local economic alliance-building
practices in their respectively countries.
Iloilo City planning chief Jose Roni Peñalosa
shared the city’s economic development
programs while Evan Anthony Arias and Ruben
Corpuz presented the competitiveness of
and local economic development in Guimaras,
respectively.
From the presentations, it was learned
that regional planning in Canada is clearly
mandated and involves the strong participation
of the private sector, which covers growth
management, transportation, waste management,
infrastructure, sewage treatment and environmental
protection.
In the Philippines, on the other hand,
inter-local government and regional planning
is not mandated by the national government
and similar courses of action are often
the own initiatives of local government
units. Moreover, all planning are government-led
and if there is private-sector involvement,
these are sporadic and not consistent.
Both panels agree that information is vital
in planning but what made Canada’s
practice more effective is the availability
of data needed for the process, its prioritization
of data collection and understanding of
its clients and target market.
Iloilo
told to put investors together under one
roof
The country in general may
be reeling from speculations of instability
but Iloilo City is reeling from so many
potential investments that all it has to
do is put them all together under one big
umbrella of cooperative efforts for greater
impact.
 |
Iloilo
Dinagyang Foundation chair Ben Jimena
(3rd from left) explains an idea during
the roundtable as co-discussants (from
left) Director Edwin Trompeta of the
Department of Tourism and Iloilo City
Councilor Merci-Drilon Garcia and
host Jobert Peñaflorida (right)
listen. |
This was the overall perspective of the
panelists in a roundtable discussion organized
on February 27 by the Canadian Urban Institute
(CUI) and ABS-CBN
TV 10, with funding assistance from the
Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA) .
Dubbed “Sikat Ka Iloilo! A Roundtable
on Who Does What? In Achieving Iloilo City’s
Vision of a Premier City by 2015,"
it was moderated by lawyer Joebert Peñaflorida.
It followed the format of Peñaflorida’s
morning TV talkshow Sikat Ka Iloilo! (You’re
Famous, Iloilo!) which airs over ABS-CBN
TV 10.
The panelists included:
- Mr. Sedfrey Cabaluna, a student leader
at the University
of San Agustin
- Engr. Diosdado Cadena, Jr., provincial
director of the Department
of Trade and Industry
- Mr. Rinand Escuban, director for student
affairs of the Central
Philippine University
- Hon. Merci Drilon Garcia, councilor
of Iloilo City
- Ms. Jane Jaspe, representative of the
Iloilo City Convention Bureau
- Mr. Ben Jimena, executive director
of the Iloilo
Dinagyang Foundation, Inc.
- Ms. Ma. Leah Victoria Lara, executive
director of the Iloilo
Business Club
- Mr. Michael Vincent Palacios, student
leader at the West
Visayas State University
- Mr. Edwin Trompeta, director of the
Department
of Tourism in Western Visayas
- Mr. Nielex Tupas, chairperson of the
Kabataang
Liberal ng Pilipinas (Liberal Youth
of the Philippines), Iloilo chapter
 The
forum sought to identify the on-going impact
programs which are contributing in making
Iloilo a hub for tourism, economic and social
development activities in the region. It
also tackled the issues on how effective
these programs are, how do agencies and
sectors respond to the programs being pushed
and what are the challenges the sectors
are facing.
The views from both the panelists and the
other participants from the audience pointed
to the fact that Iloilo has so many mechanisms
and programs that boost both tourism and
economy, for one, the Dinagyang Festival,
which undeniably had brought Iloilo to the
attention of the world community.
The forum participants, likewise, believed
that factors like education, information,
and communication technology and all the
other relevant policies are pushing Iloilo
nearer its 2015 vision. Added to this, is
the effort at connecting the tourism and
economic development goals of Iloilo and
Guimaras.
They, however, believed that partnerships
and linkages have to be strengthened and
effectively forged, and that a single big
body should be able to put all the initiatives
and the proponents together for sustainability.
CUI Advisors Terry Boutilier and Patricia
MacPherson both believed Iloilo has the
capacity to pursue its vision and it has
to start by being able to put in place measures
to see its direction clearly.
Penaflorida, the program host, underscored
the role of the local media in helping Iloilo
achieve its goal. That forum was just among
the initiatives, he said.
Philippine
Information Agency
Players draft Western Visayas tourism
action plan
Tourism stakeholders have completed the
draft document of the Western
Visayas Tourism Action Plan 2010 which
defines the "who, what, where, when
and how" in making tourism happens
in the region.
The 16-page plan provides a framework for
local and national governments,business
sector and non-government organizations
to analyze tourism resources and concerns
and to encourage development and promotion
of tourism in Western Visayas.
In envisions Western Visayas to be a "globally
competitive cultural heritage, resort and
convention destination loaded with fascinating
cultural festivals, events and natural attractions
and showcasing the vibrance, vintage and
value of its people."
Likewise, it seeks to position Western
Visayas as a top destination for MICE (meetings,
incentives, convention and exhibition) offering
cultural heritage and resort attractions.
The document draws six action plans to
achieve its goals. These include:
- Shore up physical infrastructures to
support tourism development.
Enhance tourism products and services.
- Integrate marketing and promotion projects
and activities into a unified Western
Visayas tourism marketing program.
- Promote public-private partnerships
to support tourism investment, capacity
development and tourist services.
- Improve tourism frontline support services.
- Systematize community and policy support
The draft action plan was culled from various
outputs of the Western
Visayas Tourism Summit 2006 organized
recently by the Department of Tourism in
cooperation with the Regional Development
Council and the Canadian Urban Institute.
The summit, held on 9-10 February 2006
at the Sarabia Manor Hotel and Convention
Center, was participated by tourism officers,
local government executives, the academe,
tour operators and other stakeholders in
the tourism industry.
Regional tourism goals
set
Players in the tourism industry
want to make Western Visayas as a prime
and globally- competitive tourist destination
in the Philippines through integrated tourism
marketing and infrastructure development.
This is the highlight of the draft regional
tourism action plan for the region developed
during the Western
Visayas Tourism Summit 2006 held on
9-10 February 2006.
The action plan was synthesized from the
five regional action plans respectively
formulated by contingents from the five
provinces in the region who participated
in the summit.
Summit participants include local government
executives, the academe, tour operators
and other stakeholders in the tourism industry.
The province that presented the best regional
tourism action plan was awarded P10,000
while two runners-up received P5,000 each.
The plan, which still bills Boracay as
the region’s anchor destination, also
called for public-private partnership in
tourism development. Government support
will still be generated as alliance for
tourism will be built.
The summit was organized by the Department
of Tourism (DOT) in cooperation with the
Regional Development Council (RDC) and the
Canadian Urban Institute (CUI). It was held
at the Sarabia Manor Hotel and Convention
Center.
The action planning was preceded by presentations
and talks of key industry leaders that included
DOT Undersecretary Oscar Palabyab, former
DOT Secretary Narzalina Lim and Samie Lim,
Vice President for Tourism of the Philippine
Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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