By Tara Yap
Iloilo City—This city is vying for the Clean Tourist City Standard Award of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Sunburst Park, which was rebuilt with funding from Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), is another attraction in Iloilo City. The park is adjacent to the century-old Iloilo Customs House in Iloilo City. (Tara Yap/Manila Bulletin/File)
Mayor Jerry P. Treñas expressed hope the inspection team that came this week can reaffirm the city’s efforts in clean and green development as well as improvement of tourism promotions.
The inspection team included those from the Department of Tourism (DOT), particularly its Tourism Standards and Regulation Division and DOT Western Visayas regional office.
Iloilo City has seen massive infrastructure improvement for almost a decade.
Senator Franklin Drilon led development programs that started with the Iloilo River rehabilitation and creating the river park known as Iloilo Esplanade.
A native of Iloilo City, Drilon is instrumental in the construction of the Iloilo Convention Center and the Sunburst Park. He also pushed for the adaptive reuse of a century-old building that became the Museum of Philippine Economic History.
The award is a standardized tool that helps ASEAN-member states to improve tourism quality and increase marketing competitiveness.
Aside from inspecting the tourism-friendly structures, the inspection team also assessed the Iloilo City government’s policies and legislations in solid waste management, water efficiency and wastewater management, and air pollution management systems.