THE word "club" may suggest an association of individuals whose intention is to have a good time or to party.  This meaning is the farthest from the minds of those business persons in Iloilo City who formed almost ten years ago the Iloilo Business Club.  Although Ilonggos are famous for partying or socializing, the Iloilo Business Club was established with the very serious mission of identifying the ways and means through which people in business in Iloilo can contribute to the common good of their beloved city.   Inspired by the success of the original "business club" that was founded ten years before, a group of entrepreneurs in Iloilo sought the advice and assistance of the Makati Business Club on how to organize a club that is different from the usual trade chambers that are ubiquitous nationally and in the regions.  A trade chamber is usually set up by people in business to identify and defend their respective legitimate vested interests in a pluralistic society where interests of the various stakeholders in a community may not necessarily coincide. In the Philippine political situation, the chambers of commerce usually perform the important task of lobbying for their respective interests on the national, regional, and local levels.

Not so with the business clubs, the most prominent of which are the Makati Business Club, the Cebu Business Club and the Iloilo Business Club.  These clubs do not duplicate what the chambers are already doing.  They do not espouse the vested interests — no matter how legitimate — of various sectors or industries.  They identify causes that are directly related to the common good of society, such as fighting corruption, improving the quality of education, protecting human rights and the physical environment, attracting foreign direct investments, etc., and then propose to the appropriate authorities very specific policies, programs, and solutions to attain the common good, which means the good of every person and of the whole person. For almost ten years now, Iloilo business persons from various sectors and industries have been involved in addressing such problems as energy shortages, infrastructure inadequacies, traffic congestion, manpower training, housing of the poor that beset the Metro Iloilo area.

The challenge to the Iloilo Business Club has grown with the creation of the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC), which is a work alliance of the City of Iloilo, the municipalities of Oton, San Miguel, Pavia, Leganes, and Sta. Barbara, and the Province of Guimaras. It was formally established by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo through Executive Order No. 559 on August 28, 2006, and was designed to help address the area's emerging problems brought about by rapid urbanization and the spatial development challenges of tourism and sustainable economic development.

In a recent report of UA&P economist Aurora G. Hidalgo, the phenomenal growth of the Metro Iloilo-Guimaras region was traced.  In 1990, the population of MIG was placed at 500,000.  A decade later, it ballooned to 700,000 or by 40 % more.  In contrast, Metro Manila and its outlying areas grew by 29% or by four million people during the same period.  The component towns and cities of MIGEDC play complementary roles for the long-term development of the Metropolitan area.

Guimaras province, famous for some of the sweetest mangoes in the whole country, assumes the role of an agri-tourism hub.  Pavia is the agro-industrial center.  Leganes specializes in light industries. San Miguel is the food basket.  Oton is the dormitory town.  Sta. Barbara, where the international airport is located, is the gateway to the nation and to the world.  Finally, the original Iloilo City will remain the residential, financial, commercial, governance, and educational center, not only for Guimaras and the five satellite municipalities but for the entire Region VI or Western Visayas.

Metro Iloilo is already attracting some of the biggest firms in the country to invest in real estate, energy, business process outsourcing, tourism, education, transport and telecom, infrastructure and logistics.  The rapid urbanization of the area will require a close partnership between the government and the private sector to guarantee long-term harmony and sustainability in what could be a chaotic growth process.  The Iloilo Business Club will play a leading role in managing this Public-Private Partnership relationship that is at the core of the development strategy of the government of President Benigno Aquino III.  Those who would like more information about the Iloilo Business Club may get in touch with Mr. Antonio Jon at antoniosjon@yahoo.com  or Ms. Aurora Hidalgo at ahidalgo@uap.edu.ph.  For comments, my e-mail address is bvillegas@uap.edu.ph.