Iloilo City Can’t ‘RISE’ Alone

On the surface, the latest numbers from the Philippine Statistics Authority are a cause for celebration. Iloilo City is once again the fastest-growing economy in Western Visayas, with an impressive 7.1% growth rate in 2024, even if it’s 3.3 points lower than the 10.4% growth in 2023.

The city’s “RISE” roadmap, under Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu, might be bearing fruit, somehow. There’s a palpable energy in the air, from the bustling BPO hubs to the ever-expanding skyline.

But a closer look at the data reveals a deeply unsettling story. This glittering success is an island in a struggling sea. While the city soars, the province of Iloilo—the region’s largest economic contributor in sheer size—is stagnating with a meager 1.4% growth. The economic output gap between an individual in the city versus the province is now a staggering PHP 257,000. We are living a tale of two Iloilos.

More than just an unfortunate gap, what we’re facing is an unsustainable paradox. Iloilo City cannot thrive in the long run if the province that supports it is left behind. We are not two separate economies; we are one interconnected ecosystem. Where do thousands of the city’s BPO agents, construction workers, and service crew go home to every night? To towns like Pavia, Oton, Santa Barbara, and Leganes. Where does the produce for our world-class restaurants and the rice on our tables come from? From the province’s farms, which suffered a devastating -15.9% collapse last year, likely due to El Niño.

A city that cannot guarantee stable food prices or a resilient local supply chain is building its success on a fragile foundation. The prosperity of the city is directly tied to the health of the province. It’s time we stopped pretending otherwise.

What we need is a bold, unified vision. The current administrative boundaries are hindering logical, inclusive development. It’s time to move beyond token coordination and demand a real, empowered ‘Metro Iloilo’ development plan. This means creating an integrated economic zone where the city’s capital and dynamism are purposefully channeled to uplift the province.

This strategy must transcend mere infrastructure development and focus on architecting intelligent policy. The objective is to create a compelling framework of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives that actively funnels urban capital into the rural economy. This would encourage city-based firms to establish value-adding facilities and satellite operations in provincial growth centers, effectively decentralizing opportunity. Concurrently, we must leverage Iloilo City’s innovation ecosystem to build a modern agricultural value chain that foster agri-tech solutions that integrate farmers directly with urban markets and dramatically reduce systemic inefficiencies.

The success of Iloilo City is something every Ilonggo can be proud of. But true victory is when prosperity is shared. Our leaders, from the Capitol to City Hall, must tear down the invisible walls between them. The challenge now is to make sure that as the city continues to ascend, it lifts the entire province up with it.