JOHNNY NOVERA
THE front page of Panay News on Saturday bannered the selection of Iloilo City and Boracay as among the venues of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.
In the case of Iloilo City, it will host the Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting from September 21 to 25, 2015, wherein some 700 delegates from 21 APEC countries are expected to attend.
Then, from September 28 to October 6, 2015, it will host the Food Security Week, when there will be a high-level policy dialogue on food security, with some 900 delegates attending.
We have this rare opportunity to host a meeting of prominent political leaders and economists from countries under the Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
While the APEC events are essentially economic and business in nature, there is a tourism value in them because of delegations from other Asian countries.
Ilonggos should therefore extend our biggest welcome to our visitors and do everything possible to make their stay pleasant, safe, and more fruitful.
It will be good if our Department of Tourism under Regional Director Helen Catalbas will make preparations this early and create tourism activities for delegates and visitors to make their stay with us more pleasant and fruitful.
Our local hotels, resorts, and restaurants should certainly look forward to the APEC events in Iloilo for the delegates to enjoy our hospitality and have a taste of famous Ilonggo delicacies.
Now is the time for the City Engineer’s Office under Engr. Roberto Divinagracia to check again the safety of our roads and improve the flow of traffic at all times, even before the visitors come.
We remember the electric posts left in the middle of the street after the road widening in various parts of the city. Are they still there?
To complete our preparation, our barangay captains should get involved, too, and we should inform them of the forthcoming APEC events in Iloilo scheduled for 2015 — information that they can also pass on to their constituents.
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For comments or reactions, please e-mail jnoveracompany@yahoo.com./PN
