#MINDANAO
The Diyandi Festival, the annual celebration of the residents of Iligan City centers on the feast day of its patron Saint Michael the Archangel. Celebrating this month-long series of events including a street dancing fest last Sept. 27 makes one marvel at the growth of this Mindanao city, large urban area of 363,115 people according to 2020 census.
After World War II, Iligan was known for the Maria Cristina hydroelectric complex that supplied power to the Mindanao grid, and the Iligan Integrated Steel Mills, the forerunner of National Steel Corporation. Many other industries took root such as cement plants, a flour mill, and other industrial facilities to make Iligan an industrial hub. Iligan is also a center for education, with the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology becoming a place for high-level education in engineering.
Nowadays, apart from industries, Iligan has become known for its many waterfalls as well as an arts and food scene that celebrates its diverse culture. This is on full display during the Diyandi Festival.
Going around there are new roads and a plethora of restaurants and cafes that have sprouted over the last decade. New hotels welcome visitors and new malls are set to start construction soon. A long-awaited addition to the city’s food landscape is Fat Pauly’s, an iconic new pub that provides locally brewed beers. Located at the circumferential road, it is perched on a hill overlooking the city. This barn-like resto has a windmill that lights up in the evening, a sight seen from across town.
Moreover, Iligan is one of two highly urbanized cities of the Northern Mindanao region, right in the midst of the emerging economic corridor between the two Misamis provinces, which promises to be a more active local economy due to the Panguil Bay Bridge in Lanao del Norte.
What the future holds for Iligan and many Mindanao cities will be bolstered by innovation and the building of a creative economy. The Innovation Act of 2018 sets into motion programs that can harness innovation and research at the regional level to help address long-term challenges and discover new opportunities, products, and services that can also create more jobs in the future. The diverse cultures that form the populace of these locales are fertile ground for which innovative approaches in seizing opportunities.
The same diversity creates opportunities for the creative economy through arts, performances, and even new recipes using locally farmed ingredients. To know more about how to harness these, you can read the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 11904 or the Philippine Creative Industries Act (PCIDA).
A key enabler for harnessing these opportunities is the digital economy. Since the pandemic, this has become a key driver of economic opportunities. Digital payments are now a part of daily life, making transactions convenient, and accelerating inclusion into the formal financial sector.
In line with this, two events are worth attending:
The first is the upcoming Online Selling Summit on Oct. 4, 2024 at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Parañaque City, organized by Go Negosyo with the support of many partners. I believe this will help improve the participation of more Filipinos in the global economy.
Another is the Innovation Summit in Davao hosted by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This will be on Nov. 7 to 9 at the SMX Convention Center in Davao. This will bring Mindanao’s tech and business leaders together to discuss how to capitalize on the new economy.