THE RISE of Iloilo City as one of the country’s fastest-growing business and property hubs, as reported by this paper yesterday, is undoubtedly a source of pride for Ilonggos. Once overshadowed by larger metropolitan centers, Iloilo is now commanding national attention after overtaking Metro Cebu in occupied office spaces during the first quarter of 2026 — a remarkable milestone that reflects the city’s growing attractiveness to investors, developers, and high-value outsourcing firms.
Towering office buildings now dominate districts such as Iloilo Business Park. Condominium projects continue to rise. Restaurants, retail establishments, and commercial centers are flourishing. The numbers are impressive. Iloilo posted an 89-percent condominium take-up rate and a staggering 96-percent take-up rate for house-and-lot developments, surpassing regional averages. Western Visayas itself emerged as the country’s fastest-growing regional economy in 2025 with a 6.4-percent expansion.
But who truly benefits from this growth?
Economic expansion becomes meaningless if ordinary Ilonggos are merely spectators watching cranes, glass towers, and luxury developments rise around them while they continue struggling with low wages, rising prices, expensive housing, and unstable jobs.
The influx of business process outsourcing (BPO) companies and investors has undoubtedly created employment opportunities. Thousands of young Ilonggos now work in outsourcing firms that offer salaries often higher than traditional local employment. This is a welcome development. For years, many Ilonggos had to leave for Manila or abroad in search of better opportunities. Today, more jobs are becoming available at home.
Yet growth must not be measured solely by occupied office spaces or booming property sales.
The ordinary worker asks different questions: Can my salary keep up with rising rent? Can I still afford to live near where I work? Can a minimum-wage earner still dream of owning a decent home in Iloilo City? Or is the city slowly becoming a playground only for investors, developers, and upper-income buyers?
As property values soar, many residents already feel the consequences. Rental prices in key districts continue to rise. Land prices in strategic areas have dramatically increased. Condominium developments, while symbols of progress, are often priced beyond the reach of ordinary Ilonggo families. Even middle-income earners increasingly find themselves priced out of the very city whose growth they help sustain.
There is also the danger of uneven development. Glittering business districts may project prosperity, but outside these economic enclaves remain communities struggling with flooding, traffic congestion, inadequate drainage, overcrowded public transportation, and lack of affordable housing. Progress cannot remain concentrated in a few commercial zones while many neighborhoods continue dealing with old urban problems.
The challenge now before the Iloilo City government, developers, and business leaders is to ensure that growth becomes inclusive. This means aggressively investing in affordable housing programs, improving public transportation, strengthening flood control systems, expanding skills training for workers, and ensuring that jobs created by economic expansion provide decent wages and long-term security.
The city must also avoid the mistakes of larger urban centers where uncontrolled commercialization eventually pushed ordinary residents farther from economic opportunities. Iloilo still has the opportunity to pursue balanced and humane urban development while growth remains manageable.
The true test of Iloilo’s rise will not be found in property briefings or real estate statistics alone. It will be seen in whether ordinary Ilonggos can still afford to live, work, raise families, and dream comfortably in the city they proudly call home.
