Renewing the Public Realm
Bioregional planning
By Nereo C. Lujan
PLANNING offices are regular features of provinces, cities and municipalities in the Philippines. These offices are mandated to chart the growth of their respective local governments and at the same time provide contingencies during crisis. But there are development issues that straddle across boundaries, giving birth to regional planning to effectively address [...]
Iloilo River: City’s biggest septic tank
ONE HUNDRED FORTY of the total 180 barangays in Iloilo City have virtually made the once beautiful and majestic Iloilo River as giant septic tank.
This is the reason why the river at the heart of the metropolis is dying, said City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) chief, Engr. Noel Hechanova.
Transferring city hall could ‘kill’ Calle Real
ILOILO CITY – The city government is trying to revive the once-famous Calle Real, but its plan to take the city hall away from the downtown area is threatening to derail its own efforts, and could in fact lead to the death of the old and ailing central business district here.
The already sluggish business activities [...]
Streamlining improves city business climate
PROCESSING of business permits and related documents at the Iloilo City Hall improved a lot, according to the assessment report of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
The improvement was attributed to the implementation of the business permit and licensing system (BPLS) streamlining supported by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the GTZ, both of [...]
Pretty Plaza search is on
THE evaluation of entries in this year’s “Pretty Plaza, Banwa Gwapa” project of the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC) has began.
The project, which was started last year, aims to recognize the cleanest and most beautiful plaza among seven local government units comprising the MIGEDC.
Go to “Pretty Plaza, Banwa Gwapa” photo gallery
Cleanliness and sanitation ordinance to be strictly enforced
THE Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) will strictly enforce next month regulation Ordinance 149, an ordinance which prescribes the penalties for activities inimical to cleanliness and sanitation.
Ordinance 149 prohibits littering on the street, sidewalks, parks, playgrounds and other public places, urinating, defecating or spitting in public places, painting, inscribing or posting graffiti on public places [...]
Knowledge economy 101
SEOUL—When you give something a name, you empower it. And so, they’ve given it a name—knowledge economy or knowledge-based economy. In layman’s terms, knowledge economy (KE) means using knowledge to create wealth. Wealth isn’t a bad word if it means quality life, not just for a few, but for all.
Representatives from six countries—Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, [...]
Furnishing the Streets
By Ian Malczweski
IT’S another hot day and the urge to drink strikes as you walk about the city. You stop at a nearby shop and purchase a bottle of water, which you’ve finished before you’ve even walked one block. Unfortunately, you’re now stuck with an empty bottle. You could keep it to refill later, but [...]
‘Malling’ consumes shoppers in the Philippines
THE Philippines has three of the world’s 10 largest shopping centers, two of them in the capital, Manila. Scores of others, ranging from modern glass and steel structures to older, fading buildings, dot cities across the archipelago.
Although over 40 percent of the country’s 90 million people live on $2 or less per day, malls here [...]
When Public Becomes Private
By Ian Malczewski
FOR better or worse, we live in a world where money talks. This fact not only relates to the business world, but also to municipal government, where the allocation of funds to certain projects often means a lack of funding to others. Compared to large corporations, governments - especially municipal governments - have [...]
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