Iloilo City’s cooling hubs are getting a ‘second life’

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Iloilo City government will repurpose its solar-powered cooling hubs, which were established to protect commuters and the public from extreme heat, after they served a total of 3,883 clients during the hot season.

General Services Office (GSO) head Engr. Neil Ravena said Monday that the facilities have fulfilled their purpose as the heat index has returned to normal levels.

“This is because of the improvement in the heat index, which has gone down to around 30 to 24 degrees Celsius. We will use this cooling hub for another purpose […] We will be dismantling it, and it will be used for another purpose,” Ravena said.

The solar-powered cooling hub along Diversion Road will be transferred to Sunset Boulevard, where it will serve as a mini-office for the city’s Public Order and Safety Management Office and personnel assigned to maintain the road network.

“As we all know, there are no distribution power lines at Sunset Boulevard. We really need a solar-powered mini-office there so our maintenance personnel and security guards will have proper shelter,” he said.

Meanwhile, the cooling hub at Plazoleta Gay will be relocated to the YMCA-Iloilo compound near the Iloilo Provincial Capitol, where it will serve as a temporary mini police station for the Iloilo City Police Station 1.

Ravena said the city is targeting the transfer and reinstallation of both facilities within the week.

He noted that the cooling hubs provided more than temporary relief from the heat.

“It was not only a cooling hub but it also had a rehydration aspect for the clients. We provided a water dispenser in the area […] I think it was able to serve its purpose,” he said.

The city, however, is keeping the facilities for possible future use, as state weather bureau PAGASA has not ruled out the occurrence of a super El Niño, which could bring severe drought, prolonged dry spells, and water shortages later this year.

Launched during the peak of the dry season this year, the cooling hubs were established to provide commuters, residents, and visitors with a safe place to cool down during days of extreme heat.

Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu opened the first two hubs on May 6 along Diversion Road in Mandurriao and General Luna Street in City Proper, while the Plazoleta Gay hub began operations on May 18.

The initiative responded to heat indices that reached as high as 46 degrees Celsius in parts of the city since the onset of the dry season.

The hubs operated daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., giving users about 30 minutes to rest, hydrate, and escape dangerous daytime temperatures.

Each air-conditioned hub could accommodate about 20 people at a time and offered free drinking water, while some also had health personnel from the City Health Office to conduct basic health monitoring, including blood pressure checks and initial assessments.

The city government kept construction costs low by converting refurbished container-type structures, using recycled materials, and installing solar power systems.

Each publicly funded cooling hub reportedly cost around PHP 19,500 to establish.