Still low-end

MOST natives of “I Am Iloilo City” are not aware of this but aside from being tagged by President Rodrigo Duterte as the “most shabu-lized” and “bedrock of illegal drugs” it is also considered as “low-end.”

Before the uninitiated gets lost in translation: Low-end – inexpensive and of a very low quality or having only the basic features, without options or extras

Not very flattering. In fact some or most would consider that tag quite demeaning but as far as most good restaurant and hotel chains are concerned, that is the level of the consumer market of “I Am Iloilo City.”

Let’s discuss this in a calm and objective manner and not go into the usual blame game as most natives of these islands resort to every time someone calls attention to their shortcomings.

No, it is not the fault of dismissed and Former World Mayor No. 5 Jed Patrick Mabilog or suspended congressman Jerry Treñas, and not even Sen. Franklin Drilon that “I Am Iloilo City” is considered low-end.

Yes, politics has nothing to do with “I Am Iloilo City” being low-end it has been that way since the 1960s up to now despite the bike lanes, the esplanade and the Iloilo Convention Center.

Why do you think there are tiangges and “cheap street food-style stalls” in the Festive Walk of the Iloilo Business Park? That place has been envisioned as the bigger version of Eastwood City, Megaworld’s first township in Libis, Quezon City.

For the uninitiated and have never been to Eastwood City, it is “high-end” frequented by the “beautiful people” with “high-end” shops and restaurants most of which are beyond the “low-end” “Jollibee/Mang Inasal Ilonggos.

This early Megaworld has realized the “low-end” taste of the Ilonggos hence those tiangges and “cheap street food-style stalls” which are directly competing with the sosyal restaurants, the real tenants of Festive Walk of the Iloilo Business Park.

Now there is nothing wrong with tiangges and “street food-style stalls” if it’s Dinagyang or some other appropriate festival. But according to some restaurant owners in the Iloilo Business Park having them on a regular basis not only defeats the concept and ambiance of the place but directly competes with the regular tenants.

It seems Iloilo City cannot get rid of the “low-end” tag. Perhaps it has to do with the natives’ reluctance to change and incapacity to think out of the box.

And do you know that “I Am Iloilo City” will never have a 5-star hotel as long as the Iloilo City Slaughterhouse does not get a Triple A rating from the National Meat Inspection Service or NMIS as that is the first requirement of 5-star hotels before they set shop?

On top of this, “I Am Iloilo City” does not even have a proper dog pound or an animal welfare ordinance.

These above mentioned unfortunate situations affecting “I Am Iloilo City” you can definitely say is corruption and yes, you can blame the above mentioned politicians.

Unfortunate as they maybe but they are not the reason or reasons why “I Am Iloilo City” is classified as low-end in the consumer market.

Most 5-star hotel chains have three classes when they set up shop; first there’s the main one which has 5-star rating and depending on the market level i.e. location, taste and spending capacity of guests, the branch will also be 5-star and then they have the mid-range and finally the low-end.

The mid-range level is just a scaled-down version of the 5-star and has almost all the amenities and facilities i.e. swimming pool, gym/spa and restaurants and it cost slightly lower than the 5-star.

While the low-end is a twice scaled-down version of the mid-range i.e. no swimming pool, just a coffee shop which also doubles as the restaurant and smaller rooms with less facilities and amenities, of course costing really lower than the mid-range.

As an example, Seda Hotel Vertis North in Quezon City and Seda Hotel Abreeza in Davao and about to open Seda Hotel Capitol Central in Bacolod all have swimming pools while Seda Hotel Atria in Iloilo City does not have one.

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, a more upscale coffee shop than Starbucks, has three branches in Davao City and seven in Cebu City but none in “I Am Iloilo City.”

Of course “I Am Iloilo City” has a lot of 7-11 convenient stores and Jollibee which says so much about the natives’ taste.

When moi came back to “I Am Iloilo City” after almost three decades of wanderlust, the displays in the stores in SM City are still the same. It’s a good thing international clothing chains like Uniqlo and H&M opened shop, otherwise the natives will still be stuck with bargain items from Divisoria and Baclaran displayed in the department stores.

Good taste and having a sense of style has nothing to do with money; its how you were brought up and where you went to school.

You can afford to eat at California Kitchen or CPK but your taste is only up to Greenwich and that explains why you are low-end. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)