‘MAY IKASANAG PA KITA’: BMAP, ABSI form coalition to spur Iloilo’s economic awakening

Believing that Iloilo remains a sleeping dragon waiting to be unleashed, the Business Management Association of the Philippines-BMAP Region VI and the Association of Business Students in Iloilo (ABSI) forged an alliance that will tackle and provide solutions to the province’s economic development.

BMAP Region VI is an organization composed of Business Management Students in Western Visayas while ABSI is a non-profit organization with the advocacy to discover business talents and maximize the potential of business-minded youth.

Their alliance aims to tackle the evolving demands of growing economies, particularly in the vibrant landscape of Iloilo.

BMAP Region VI and ABSI will spark discussions on Iloilo’s best marks and assets and the challenges it must hurdle to further develop the local economy, create jobs, and improve the living standards of Ilonggos.

The organizations anchored their project on recent reports of Iloilo posting an 8.5 percent in 2022, a rebound from 4.5 percent in 2021.

Iloilo province is also the second biggest economy in Western Visayas, accounting for 21.6 percent of the P955.02 billion value of the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) in 2022.

Meanwhile, Iloilo City was hailed as the most competitive highly urbanized city outside of the National Capital Region (NCR) and the fourth overall based on the 2023 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI).

Based on the CMCI, which is an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities developed by the National Competitiveness Council, Iloilo City placed second for government efficiency, fifth in resiliency, and ninth in infrastructure.

The rankings of cities and municipalities are based on the sum of their scores on five pillars: economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure, resiliency, and innovation.

But Iloilo still faces a lot of challenges such as:

-poverty and lack of grassroots sanitation that lead to ailments/health crises;

-energy crises brought about by lack of supply or inadequate facilities;

-education gaps that affect students’ performance; and

-infrastructure issues like the Ungka flyover which led to reputational and traffic problems for Ilonggos.

BMAP Region VI and ABSI believe that these issues must be tackled and resolved for Iloilo to become a regional and even global economic power.

The two associations will mount year-round activities and advocacies both in mainstream and social media to realize their aims.

“Embrace the future of business with us – join the transformative journey aligning with our economic expectations, be part of the change, and let’s soar together for innovative opportunities and leadership, creating a brighter, more prosperous tomorrow!” BMAP declared.