ILOILO City – The recent Dinner/Show: Celebrating the Ilonggo Spirit was one of the most important highlights of Iloilo Business Week 2019. It featured elegant musical performances from the Iloilo Chamber Orchestra as well as the premier of a short film, “All Eyes on Iloilo,” directed by TM Malones and written by Tara Illenberger.
However, the main focus of the event was Senator Franklin Drilon himself, who gave a rousing speech on Iloilo’s past and its future challenges. In his speech, Drilon compared the Iloilo of the past to a “woman spurned by her lover.”
However, due to the dedication of both public and private sector leaders, Iloilo gradually began to recover and today, it boasts several important improvements which are contributing to long term growth and development.
“Many Ilonggos never gave up on the dream of making Iloilo a premier investment and a tourist destination,” Drilon said, before pointing out all of the progress that’s been made in the past few decades.
But Drilon’s speech was not just about Iloilo’s progress. It also touched on many future challenges. He cited, for example, the slowdown in GDP growth in recent years as well as the need for further infrastructure investments. Furthermore, the film “All Eyes on Iloilo” also featured several business leaders talking about the needs and concerns of the city, particularly in the area of energy security.
Aside from practical matters, “Celebrating the Ilonggo Spirit” also featured the Iloilo Chamber Orchestra’s growth and development, and Senator Drilon’s role in their founding.
The event ended with a rousing toast from Atty. Jobert Peñaflorida, President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Iloilo Chapter, who gave many words of praise for both Senator Drilon as well as Iloilo’s future./PN
