ILOILO City – A sugar heritage trail in Western Visayas is being proposed to be included in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List.
Iloilo City Planning and Development Officer Jose Roni Peñalosa said it started as a proposal of the Department of Tourism (DOT), given the role of the region in the world’s sugar industry.
“It all started with a study commissioned by the DOT-6 to explore the possibility of establishing a Western Visayas Sugar Heritage Trail. The intended outcome is to better understand the industrial heritage and identify the opportunity for sugar heritage tourism products,” he said.
There were 127 identified trails or remnants and landmarks of the industry—87 are in Negros Occidental, 25 in Iloilo, five in Guimaras, seven in Capiz, and three in Antique.
In this city, among the distinct features connected to the trail are the historical district of Calle Real at the City Proper and the districts of Jaro, La Paz and Molo.
“The Ker and Company, the old structures along the Iloilo River, used to be trading houses, take-off points to Europe, and receiving ends for our exports. Nicholas Loney had been instrumental. This forms part of the history of the sugar trail that the British vice-consul did come here and introduce machinery to go into modernized milling and contribute to the sugar trade,” Peñalosa said.
Iloilo City mayor Jerry Treñas, for his part, said the sugar industry in the region started in Iloilo and has transferred to Negros because of the vast tracts of land available in the province.
“That is very significant because we have to look back at the past before we can move forward. That will mean that we have a very great history that we should be proud of,” Treñas said. (PNA)/PN
