The Dowager’s Wheel of Fortune

May 25, 2006

I’ve read Iloilo’s glorious past in the books, not to mention that I was shocked that it was her who is the original "Queen City of the South". This article would be rather mixed with some facts, observations and comments so the reader may get bored uhm…informed,hehe! 

Back in the late Spanish colonial days all the way before the Japanese Occupation, the city experienced a "boom" in their economy, thanks to its international port and the ever famous sugar economy, earning up the moniker "Sa Iloilo, ang kwarta gina-piko, ginapala" (Money in Iloilo is hammocked and shoveled), seeing the flow of money from the port to the banks all the way to entertainment bars in the old Mabini street.

Iloilo was so rich at that time that it is the second most important city in the country. Not to mention, the title.

Such Glorious highs suddenly came to a halt when the war broke over the Pacific. Later on, we were "Liberated" from the Japs but the city and the province’s road to calavry didn’t stop yet.

Battle for Muelle Loney

I won’t mention names here for they might sue me for libel but I’m tellin’ ya, these personalities or their names occured in Alfred McCoys’ (an Aussie Professor) "Queen Dies Slowly". It explained te death of the Queen City because of two labor unions that fought over the control of the citie’s vital infrastructure, the port.

Violence erupted after a bomb explosion in a depot in Lapuz, just across the river wharf. Some of the accounts and old people interviewed told that the port was as just scary as Tondo is now: thieves, murders or a tense atmosphere. There are some say that the two warring labor groups were asking for additional "tong". Increasing the investor’s worries over Iloilo.

The port itself is in the state of decline as early as the Commonwealth days since a sub-port was opened at Negros. Sugar, which is being exported through Iloilo, can be now directly shipped from Negros without passing Iloilo, therefore loosing money and importance.

It was just too bad to be true…the Queen was dead.

From the Seas to the Skies: The Battle for "Ports" continue

After dying, even the Ilonggos fled outside of the city, leaving it in a state of decay. Some invested outside of Panay like Manila or her arch-rival, Cebu (by the 60’s, Cebu took the crown). There was again an constrcution boom in the 70’s and the early 90’s after some efforts of the government to uplift the state of the Ilonggo province.

By early 2000, there were malls already in Iloilo and there were plans to construct a "Iloilo Business Park" or "IT Park". The construction of the International Airport is on the way and upgrading the facilities in Iloilo is in the process.

I’m not sure but the old governor said in a TV public service program that "By the time the Airport is complete, were gonna compete with Cebu!

Miaque and the ATO

Before the Tropical Storm Caloy wrecked havoc in central Philippines, there were tense situations that were happening in the old domestic airport of Iloilo. The battle for the concessionaire and the airport authority waged. The former defended that his business is legal and as according to a treaty with the latter. The latter on the other hand wanted his parking business out. And there it goes to the court, so on and so forth.

By late April, the atmosphere in the old airport was tense. Guards and police armed with high-powered firearms were in the airport. Some passengers never minded it but the airline companies were worried.

Not again?! Basi mag-palagyo liwat ang mga manug-puhunan diri! Lihog lang, ayuhan na ina!

The New Iloilo Airport of Political Standards

This airport outside of the city would help foster the growth of the province and the rest of Panay Island. An airport of International standards might accommodate international flights such as Hong Kong or Seoul who are bound for Boracay. They may use this not just for Iloilo’s progress but also for the rest of Panay.

Again, as all big government projects here in the Philippines, it is mired with controversy. The issue of overpricing, the padrino system or the governor’s family controling most of its money and construction was in every local newspaper of TV report in Iloilo.

I’m just praying that this would not lead to another white elephant project or being mothballed like NAIA Terminal 3!

History Repeating Itself?

I’ve heard that Ilonggos are proud of what they are and what they have. Experiencing from heaven to hell, they were sturdy enough to withdstand the tests of time and nature and unlucky twists of fate.

Now, I don’t know if we Filipinos do have the lack of sense of history but as seen in Iloilo, as if history is repeating itself. A vital infrastructure such as ports and airports are the heart and soul of every city wanting to progress.

One thing that made Cebu so progressive was the bullish plan of the local entrepreneurs to make the image of Cebu as a hub for business and tourism. Iloilo has been trying but one thing that is pulling it down or keeping it status quo: Politics.

I’ve seen this rift just in the first district between Guimbal and Miag-ao. In the Capitol, the second district solon and the RAIC town. The airport, the controversies, the money…These and more are factors that are keeping Iloilo down from its full potential.

The AIM named her as one of the most competitive cities in the country. Have one of the highest literacy rates in the country, the second largest rice producer and a dynamic local market, how can Iloilo move if there are simply too much politics. The political will is to profit and I don’t see it only here in Iloilo but the rest of the country.

If they are really serious about taking out the crown out of Cebu’s head, then maybe they have to change for the better. They were voted by the public to serve and to uplift the province from the bondage of the past, not to quarrel or polticize.

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Note: This doesn’t apply only to Iloilo alone.