ILOILO City — A record-breaking turnout at the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) National Assembly here overwhelmed Iloilo City’s accommodation capacity, forcing organizers to secure additional hotels, condominium units, and billeting areas even outside the city after thousands more delegates than expected arrived for what has become the organization’s biggest gathering ever held outside Metro Manila.
PCL Iloilo Province president John Paul Peñol said organizers prepared accommodations based on the PCL National Executive Board’s projection of more than 2,500 room requirements through the league’s pre-registration system. However, actual attendance surged to about 5,400 delegates due largely to an influx of walk-in participants.
The three-day PCL National Assembly started on July 29 and wraps up today, July 31.
“The National Executive Board has a rule against walk-in participants. Everyone is supposed to pre-register and pay before the event so we can properly arrange their accommodations and prepare their kits. But I don’t think the national board expected this many people to come,” said Peñol.
“Perhaps because Iloilo has been promoted so well, both online and through word of mouth, many councilors from other provinces became interested in attending here,” he explained.
The unexpected influx quickly filled hotel rooms across Iloilo City, prompting organizers to assign some delegates to accommodations farther from the Iloilo Convention Center (ICON) in Mandurriao district where the assembly is taking place, while others were housed in condominium units and neighboring municipalities.
Peñol admitted organizers received complaints on the opening day but said the situation was immediately addressed.
“We admit there were accommodation issues on the first day, but these were resolved right away. Some delegates were assigned to hotels farther from the venue because accommodations within the city had already been filled, and many of those affected were walk-in participants,” he said.
To make up for the inconvenience, the PCL National leadership decided to distribute Iloilo-made products as souvenirs to all delegates.
“The important thing is that no delegate was left without a place to stay. We found ways to accommodate everyone, and as an apology for the inconvenience, the national organization will be giving tokens,” Peñol added.
The unprecedented attendance also exceeded the 3,500-seat capacity of the Iloilo Convention Center during plenary sessions, compelling organizers to simultaneously hold other assembly activities at Gateway Hotel in Pavia town, Royal Garden Hall on General Luna Street in the City Proper, the Rose Memorial Auditorium of Central Philippine University in Jaro district, Grand Hotel in the City Proper, and even at the Pavia Gymnasium.
Peñol said councilors from Iloilo voluntarily surrendered their reserved accommodations to prioritize delegates who had traveled from distant provinces.
Despite the logistical challenges, he described the overwhelming turnout as a “good problem”, echoing Iloilo City mayor Raisa Treñas’ assessment that the record attendance underscored the city’s success as host of the national convention.
The PCL National Assembly here is deemed the largest gathering in the organization’s history to be staged outside Metro Manila.
Iloilo City has 87 accredited accommodation establishments with a combined total of 5,528 rooms.
Each delegate paid a registration fee of P18,000 to attend the PCL convention./PN
