Travelling is fun. But there is no such thing as a perfect travel.
One way or the other there may be some glitches. This happened to us in
our travel to Iloilo. My other luggage was left in the trunk of my car
when we got off in a nearby Petron to take a taxi. Good my substitute
driver brought it back to the airport in time for the check-in time. It
was stressful waiting for the late baggage especially so that the
departure time was so near at that time. But it did not end there. Our
flight to Iloilo via Cebu Pacific was delayed for one hour due to
alleged usual traffic congestion at the airport.
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| Customs' House at Iloilo Port |
We (with wife and daughter) left NAIA at 8:15 and arrived Iloilo at
about 9:15 in the evening, as the city was already asleep. Iloilo’s new
International Airport is at Cabatuan, 19 km. from the city. A taxi from
the airport to the city center costs about P300 up, or you can take a
share-van for a lower fare. Iloilo International Airport
is the airport serving the general area of Iloilo City. It is located
northwest of Iloilo City on a 188-hectare (460-acre) site across the
towns of Cabatuan, Santa Barbara and San Miguel. The new airport
inherited its IATA and ICAO airport codes, as well as its position as
the fourth-busiest airport in the Philippines, from its predecessor. The
airport is also considered as the Best Airport of The Philippines.
We had our late dinner at 10 in one 24-hour fast-food in the city. We
checked-in at Century 21 Hotel which we had our early reservation. The
hotel is a mid-sized 5-storey building offering basic, affordable rooms
with air con and cable TV. We checked-in in an executive room at a
reasonable price of P1,550.00 per night, with Wi-Fi. The accessibility
to the downtown and SM Delgado makes the hotel favorite among tourist
and locals.
A small and gracious aggregate of six districts (Jaro, Molo, La Paz,
Mandurriao, Villa Arevalo, City Proper, and Lapuz, a former part of
Lapaz), Iloilo, a highly urbanized and the second oldest city of the
country and capital of Iloilo province, has a genteel air and load of
charms. The city and its surrounding area have several noteworthy
churches – all accessible by public transportation – where you can get a
feel for Iloilo’s civic and social pulse.
The city is located in the southern shores of Panay Island. The city faces Iloilo Strait and Guimaras Island
across it, making it a natural harbor and a safe anchorage for ships.
The city lies on a flat alluvial plain, reclaimed mostly from the swampy
areas due to urbanization and industrialization in the late 19th
century until the present. In the 2007 census, Iloilo City had a
population of 418,710 with a 1.8% population annual growth rate. It is
bordered by the towns of Oton in the east, Pavia in the north, Leganes in the northeast and the Iloilo Strait in its eastern and southern coastline.
The next day, we went to Punta Villa Resort, the venue for the 34th
Annual Convention of GACPA, an association of government CPAs. It was
registration day and seeing old faces from Commission on Audit,
reminisce my early stint in the government as a CPA. The morning was
allotted for the registration and the afternoon for optional tour of the
city.
Going back to the hotel at noon, we passed and had our lunch at
Breakthrough sa Baybay near the resort. The tasty dishes at this popular
seafood place are served in the open air. Breakthrough serves
mouth-watering seafood dishes such as sinigang na lapu-lapu, kinilaw,
scallops, steamed prawns, sizzling crabmeat sisig, grilled squid and
fish, and steamed oysters.
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| Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral |
In the late afternoon, we attended mass at Jaro Metropolitan
Cathedral, 3 km. north of downtown. In front is a balcony with a statue
of the Virgin that locals consider miraculous. As the seat of Jaro
Archbishopric, the Cathedral, which is dedicated to St. Elizabeth of
Hungary, is famous for its Shrine of Our Lady of Candles which,
according to pious tradition has been miraculously growing. The devotees
of the Blessed Virgen, who invoke her under this title of “Nuestra
Senora de la Candelaria” come in thousands during her feast day, 2
February. The image was canonically crowned by His Holiness Pope John
Paul II, during the Roman Ponriff’s visit to Jaro in 1981. Until the
present, the miraculous image is the only sacred icon in the Philippines
ever crowned personally by a Pope.
Across the cathedral, is the Jaro’s plaza, an inspiring little piece
of old Asia, dominated by a dignified but crumbling old belfry that was
partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1948. One of the few belfries in
country that stand apart from the church. It was constructed by the
Spaniards to serve also as a watchtower to monitor Muslim invasion from
Mindanao.
The second day was mostly the attendance of the convention. But at
night, we had our nightlife at Plazuela de Iloilo, which is beside the
SM City Iloilo, considers as the second largest SM in the Visayas. The
Plazuela is a mall composed of retail stores, coffee shops and
restaurants. Long arcaded hallways adorn the façade of architectural
design mall inspired from Spanish-Italian design, which gives the
shoppers freedom to walk and promenade to their heart’s desire. Iloilo’s
has little to distinguish it from any other urban area in the country,
with most of its central streets a jungle of fast-food restaurants,
malls, and others. Across the river north of the downtown and near the
Plazuela is the Smallville Commercial Complex, for the dining and
nightlife of the city.
The last day was the tour of the city. Starting in the J. Basa Street
where old residential and commercial buildings survive Iloilo City date
back to Spanish and American colonial periods are situated. In the
southern quadrant of the city is Plaza Libertad, where the first flag of
the Philippine Republic was raised in triumph after Spain surrendered
the city on December 25, 1898. Near is the Ortiz wharf, a port of entry
going to and from Guimaras Island, which claims to produce the world’s
most delicious mangos.
Iloilo City is served mostly by passenger jeepneys, white metered taxis and tricycles within the city limits. The passad
jeepneys of Iloilo are known for its sleek and sedan-like design. These
often serve fixed routes and mostly plies on city’s major and secondary
roads. Large passad jeepneys and buses link Iloilo City to the rest of the province and the island of Panay. Buses bound for Manila are also available due to the Roll-on, Roll-off ferry services of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway. Mini-shuttle vans also serve provincial towns.
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| Molo Church |
On the western edge of the city, the district of Molo makes for an
interesting wander; it can be reached on foot from the city center in
twenty minutes. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Molo was a Chinese quarter like Parian in Manila. The main sight is Molo Church, a splendid 19th-century
Gothic Renaissance example made of coral, with rows of female saints
lining both sides of the aisle. The church has an intricate façade, with
a kind of domed pergola that’s complete with Greek columns. The church,
which is also referred to as the “Church of Women” because of the
statues of women saints that ecorate its pillars, was visited by Jose
Rizal on his way to exile in Dapitan.
Ilonggos are reputed for their friendly smiles, amiable faces,
charming accent, and romantic ways. Their humility and hospitality are
complementing attributes for a race proud of its opulent past. Taking us
around the city in a rented taxi was Mike Jalandoni, a charming
Ilonggo. He first took us from the airport to the hotel and we just
called him in our city tour, up to the time we left for the airport. As
we observed, taxi drivers in the city are hospitable and honest. Taxis
are everywhere, not selective of passengers and they just demand exact
fares.
We cannot leave the place without remembering that the city is known
for Dinagyang festival, a religious and cultural festival held on the
fourth weekend of January. It is the city’s largest festival and is held
to honor the Santo Niño,
and to celebrate the arrival on Panay of Malay settlers and the
subsequent selling of the island to them by the Aetas. The highlight of
the week-long revelry is the street dance competition. And let’s not
forget Iloilo for its well-known pancit molo (chicken, pork, and shrimp
dumplings in noodle soup), la paz batchoy (a tripe stew which we had our
share in Ted’z Original), and pastries for pasalubong at Deco’s (front SM Delgado), Biscocho Haus in Jaro, and Merci at the airport.
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