‘We’re ready for APEC’

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is ready to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ summit, President Aquino said yesterday.

He made the announcement as he thanked Megaworld Corp.’s chairman and president Andrew Tan for donating a piece of land for the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC), one of the venues for the annual APEC gathering.

Architect William Coscolluela designed the structure for free.

Ilonggos have a lot to celebrate, Aquino said at the ICC’s inauguration in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

He also led the ceremonial launch of the Iloilo Business Park (IBP) and the inauguration of Richmonde Hotel along with the ICC, all on Megaworld Boulevard.

The ICC will be the launching pad of Iloilo as a center for Western Visayas’ further growth in commerce and tourism, Aquino said.

The ICC is proof of good governance, along with the transformation and development of Iloilo, he  added.

Its world-class quality is admirable, along with its design inspired by Iloilo’s Dinagyang and Paraw festival, Aquino said.

“Architect Coscolluela, I learned, donated his services for the design of this structure… The performances of (singer) Jose Mari Chan earlier were also free,” he said.

“The only problem was that somebody filed a case (involving the project), the case and the insults are also free.” 

Former provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada Jr. has alleged that the ICC was overpriced and implicated Senate President Franklin Drilon, an Ilonggo, in the controversy.

W.V. Coscoluella and Associates, which designed the building, was awarded a contract without public bidding and construction was overpriced by P488 million, Mejorada said.

He accused Drilon of conspiring to rig the bidding of the project.

Drilon was charged with graft before the Office of the Ombudsman in October 2014.

However, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales dismissed the charges against Drilon for lack of merit.

Aquino said the project was one of many that had been completed in Iloilo, including the Iloilo River Esplanade.

He also led the groundbreaking of Jalaur River Multi-Purpose Project Phase II, along with the roads, bridges, relocation of informal settlers and other infrastructure projects in the province.

“In the legacy that (Drilon) will leave in Iloilo, we can see the difference between the straight path and the crooked path,” Aquino said.

The ICC, worth P713.31 million, was concrete proof and would be used for APEC meetings until October, Aquino said.

The APEC senior disaster management officials’ forum is set on Sept. 22 and 23.

The ministerial meeting on small and medium enterprises is from Sept. 21 to 25 and the ministerial meeting on food security and blue economy is from Sept. 28 to Oct. 6.

“I heard there were already confirmed bookings and inquiries for the next few months until next year,” Aquino said.

With better roads and world-class structures under the administration’s comprehensive strategy on infrastructure, more tourists would be enticed to visit the country, Aquino said.

He said tourism could create livelihood for people, who in turn could contribute to the economy’s growth.

“This is a cycle to empower a nation, a community and our bosses, the people,” he said.

It will present wide-ranging opportunities not only for the people of Iloilo but of Panay Island as well, Aquino said.

“We can clearly see the big transformation of Iloilo: from a sleepy province, it has progressed and is ready to compete with other provinces like Cebu,” he said.

The P713.31-million ICC is located inside the 72-hectare Megaworld IBP.