US envoy praises Iloilo's economic development

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Y. Kim visited Iloilo City on April 19 and saw for himself the city's development in economy and infrastructure.

Mayor Jose Espinosa III and other city government officials welcomed the ambassador at the Iloilo City Hall.

Kim, who was with officials from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), said he was glad to see the impact of the contributions the USAID made on the city’s economic growth and investment.

“While traveling to City Hall, I have seen a lot of new construction sites. It only shows that there is really a great development here. I’ve only heard good things about Iloilo from some people but now that I was able to personally see this city, I agree with them. This place has more to offer. I’m hoping that this will continue with the help of USAID,” Kim said.

Espinosa, meanwhile, expressed gratitude to the US government for its continued support to Iloilo City, and he declared that the city government would maintain strong collaboration with the USAID.

“USAID has been part of every successful projects and development that our city enjoys. We will always be thankful for their help especially in education, environment, health and economy. I hope that there will be more programs that would greatly benefit our beloved city and our people,” Espinosa said.

Among the projects that were completed with USAID’s help are: the Iloilo River Development Master Plan; streamlining of new registrations and renewals of business permits; Water Security for Resilient Economic Growth and Stability (BeSECURE); Science and Technology, Research and Innovation for Development (STRIDE); Investment Enabling Environment (INVEST); Iloilo Means Business Forum; Building Low Emission Alternatives to Develop Economic Resilience and Sustainability (B-Leaders); and Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE).

Espinosa noted that Iloilo City's partnership with the Americans dates back to 1900. "During that time they constructed our major streets and established prominent schools and hospitals which are still present to this day."

The mayor said USAID came in the late 1990s to help the city, through the Iloilo River Masterplan Development. "All development in the city started when we cleaned up and rehabilitated our river."

Recently, Espinosa issued an executive order creating a Technical Working Group for automation of building and occupancy permitting system. The USAID SURGE chose Iloilo City to be the host for the workshop on building and occupancy permitting system.

“This recent assistance would mean learning again on how to further improve the ease of doing business in our city by streamlining and automation of the building and occupancy permitting system,” he said.

This would be in consonance with the government's Build, Build, Build Program as Iloilo City also promotes its own Invest, Invest, Invest Campaign, Espinosa added.