Health and wellness takes center stage in Iloilo

The expansive Activity Center of SM City Iloilo took on the air of a civic showcase with a fresh, forward-looking pulse as the city unveiled its first Health and Wellness Fair 2026, a three-day gathering that signaled Iloilo’s growing ambitions beyond tourism and into well-being.

Mounted under the banner “Rise and Feel Great Iloilo,” the fair brought together leading medical institutions, fitness groups and wellness advocates in a setting that felt both purposeful and public-facing. More than an exhibition, it served as a statement of intent from a city positioning itself as a destination where visitors can do more than pass through.

Mayor Raisa Treñas framed the initiative within Iloilo City’s broader health and wellness tourism campaign, first launched last year, saying the goal is to shape the city into a hub where people can visit, recharge and care for their health in meaningful ways. That vision was underscored at the opening rites, where Treñas led the ribbon-cutting alongside members of the Iloilo City Health and Wellness Tourism Council and its Technical Working Group, joined by regional and business leaders including PCCI Regional Governor Engr. Fulbert Woo, Department of Health Western Visayas Regional Director Dr. Helen Tobias, Department of Tourism Western Visayas Regional Director Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez, PCCI Iloilo External Affairs Vice President Jose Francisco Gerona and JCI Iloilo President Rogie Joan Villasis.

Across the venue, booths from the Iloilo City Health Office, Borough Lasik Center, Iloilo Spa Association, Movement Space, Iloilo City Sports and Development Office, Iloilo Medical Society, The Medical City Iloilo, Healthway QualiMed, Medicus Medical Center, Skinetics, GalenX, MORE Power, Anytime Fitness and Decathlon offered a broad snapshot of the services now shaping the city’s wellness landscape.

The fair’s mood, however, was not purely clinical. Adding warmth and personality were Dr. Rollin Tabuena, a pulmonologist, and neurologist Dr. Ma. Daisy Tabuena, whose lively appearance reinforced their advocacy for healthy living through movement and exercise. Their presence lent the event an easy charm while echoing its central message: wellness is not abstract policy, but something lived daily and shared in community.

Ideas took equal billing with activity. A seminar on the Wellness Hub in Iloilo City and Province, presented by City Councilor Miguel Treñas and Philippine Councilors League Iloilo provincial president Jo Jan Paul Peñol, opened up discussion on how wellness can be woven into local development. A panel moderated by Dr. Candice Tupas, executive assistant for health and wellness, brought together cardiologist Dr. Kristy Garganera of The Medical City Iloilo, Lucy Lynette Uycongco of LPU Kids iBike and iPaddle, Belmont Hotel Iloilo General Manager Marie Joy Alonte and Dr. Malbar Ferrer of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Team for a conversation on healthier lifestyles and evolving wellness practices.

What emerged was a portrait of Iloilo in transition: a city investing in health not merely as a service, but as part of its identity.