ILOILO City – Two programs of the city government qualified for this year’s Galing Pook Awards.
A team from Galing Pook Awards was in the city recently to conduct a validation on the two entries – the Iloilo City Sports Development Care and the Iloilo Heritage Program.
According to Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, 33 entries all over the country qualified for the awards.
The city’s entries, Treñas said, are pioneering transformative initiatives that bring positive change to the community.
Held annually, Galing Pook Awards recognizes the best and most innovative local governance programs harnessing citizens’ participation and delivering positive results and impact.
Last year, the city government’s I-Bike Program which promotes the bike culture won.
The Iloilo City Sports Development Care through its Sports Academy provides free training for children aged five to 15 years old. The goal is to encourage the youth to become active in any sports activities, help them develop their potential, create a healthy lifestyle, and keep them away from vices.
Iloilo Heritage Program, on the other hand, promotes heritage conservation. The city is rich in cultural heritage areas. It has also its own Local Cultural Heritage Conservation Ordinance passed even before the national law on heritage conservation.
To further cement its effort, the city also established a Cultural Heritage Conservation Council (ICCHCC).
Treñas, during his time as congressman, pushed for an integrated development plan for a cultural heritage tourism zone that included public plazas, in coordination with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, the National Museum and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.
He subsequently authored Republic Act 10555, or “An Act Declaring the Jaro Cathedral, Molo Church, the Iloilo City Central Business District, Fort San Pedro, Jaro Plaza Complex, Molo Plaza Complex and Plaza Libertad Complex as Cultural Heritage Tourism Zones”./PN
