To guide the city, the creation of a strategic roadmap on gastronomy is currently in the works, with assistance coming from the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines itself.
The City Government is targeting to have the gastronomy roadmap completed by March.
Iloilo known as the “City of Love” is the first-ever UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy in the Philippines. Along with 54 other cities in the world, the southern city officially joined in 2023 the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), which now counts 350 cities in more than 100 countries, representing seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music.
Mayor Jerry P. Treñas is scheduled to join the UCCN Annual General Membership Assembly in July this year in Portugal.
He will deliver his reports that illustrate the city’s active implementation of the UCCN Mission Statement, both at local and international levels.
The city mayor will bring with him the Iloilo City Gastronomy Book. Its creation is one of the city government’s main endeavours that is now underway and is expected to be released by June 2024. The book will focus on gastronomy scenes of Iloilo City and will tell different stories of rich culinary culture and heritage.
The city also developed its official City of Gastronomy logo.
“I am optimistic that our recognition as a Creative City of Gastronomy will help promote the city to tourists and investors. We will do our best to keep and strengthen our designation,” Treñas said.
Lea Lara, Iloilo City Focal Person for UCCN Designation, said thatthe roadmap comes with lined up activities that will support the promotion and sustainability of the local gastronomy.
These various initiatives are anchored on the city’s chosen commitments when it bid for the title that is intertwined with the attainment of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) particularly the Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG 11), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12) and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG17).
UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Cultural Sector Ernesto Ottone earlier said that Iloilo City’s entry to UCCN comes with commitments to place culture and creativity at the heart of its sustainable development, in the short, medium, and long term.
Concepts in the pipeline may include an international food festival, a conference with other UCCN Members on Creative Economy and Gastronomy, and lifestyle-related activities such as food crawl & cooking demonstrations, among others.
Aside from these, Lara said the roadmap will also be aligned on pursuits that promote and address special issues surrounding the sector such as nutrition, food security, and even the environment.
“It’s not really just about food, but addressing challenges affecting value chains and the whole ecosystem,” said Lara.
Relatively, Lara said they want to focus on and build up what Iloilo City has been working on.
For instance, with the public markets undergoing redevelopment/modernization, the city is making them more conducive for locals and visitors to shop for locally-produced products. The continued capacity development of the public market and ambulant vendors under the USWAG Negosyo Academy will ensure compliance with food safety and productivity of entrepreneurial activities.
Also, as part of highlighting the Ilonggo culture like the ‘Huwebesan’, the famous Thursday’s market day in Jaro Big Market in Jaro District is under the plan to elevate the packaging of the products to make it more sustainable.
Other pockets of activities on the side to make things inclusive is the holding of the “Merkado Lokal” trade fair wherein the City Government provides free venue for farmers and food entrepreneurs to display and sell their products and sustaining gastronomic-related events like the Lechon Contest of Iloilo- Guimaras Paraw Regatta Festival held from late February to early March.
Moreover, on April 26-30, 2024, the Iloilo City Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibits (MICE) Center will be spearheading another initiative dubbed as “Iloilo City Festival of Food.”
“Our status opens a lot of doors for us. Along with it, there has to be a program that will benefit our vendors, farmers and other valuable players in the gastronomy sector. We have to bring them in and bring to light their respective stories. They should be part of our roadmap,” Lara emphasized.
The City Government also looks forward to collaborating with the academe and private sector for various activities like organizing conferences to explore topics on packaging, agriculture, malnutrition, innovation, skills, and food technology.
Meantime, to focus on and ensure the advancement, expansion, and promotion of the Ilonggo food culture, a permanent body – the Iloilo City Gastronomy and Food Industry Development Council – has been proposed and undergone public hearings at the City Council.
Also timely with the gastronomic initiatives of the city are the programs of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) dubbed as “FiestaKucha” and “Lunsod Lunsad.”
Iloilo City, together with DTI, hosted the “FiestaKucha,” the first creative festival in Western Visayas in December 2023.
FiestaKucha: Philippine Regional Creative Festivals, is a series of creative festivals spread across different regions nationwide that serve as a platform for artists, performers, and creative individuals to showcase and celebrate their talents and skills, to nurture and inspire the creative industries by focusing on cultural exchange, collaboration, support for emerging artists, creative entrepreneurship, and community engagement.
With the theme, ”FiestaKucha: Embracing Creative Industries in Western Visayas”, the two-day event highlighted the region’s creative industries including gastronomy.
Thus, as recently as the end of last year, Iloilo City already came up with promotional activities like the Hiligaynon culinary competition and cuisine showcase, along with “Istorya Ta”, a series of fora that delve on creative industry topics.
Likewise, Iloilo City is one of the pioneering local government units in the country for the “Lunsod Lunsad” wherein the DTI provided technical support and a grant amounting to P2.7 million to develop and embark on innovative initiatives strengthening its creative industry to include the gastronomy sector.
Through this project, the City Government completed initial mapping of the cultural assets and creative industry players of Iloilo City.
According to Lara, more than 60 percent of the creative industries surveyed last year are in gastronomy. Thus, this also served as the basis of the city in the crafting of its strategic roadmap for gastronomy.
Aside from DTI, the Department of Science and Technology has also been extending technical support to Iloilo through the “Innovate Iloilo” program.
“Opportunities are opening for the locals, not only in gastronomy, but also in other industries. Primarily, we want to zero in on tourism where we can take advantage of the curiosity of people about Iloilo City,” Lara said.
Lara noted that investors who are in the food industry are interested to locate here in Iloilo because they know people will come here to spend on food,” she added.
Lara is also optimistic that the redevelopment of Iloilo Commercial Port Complex in Iloilo City by the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is also timely and will later on pave the way for the food processing industry in Iloilo and the whole Western Visayas to thrive and unlock the potential of these local products for exportation.
