Iloilo City is vying for another Galing Pook Award as national validation for its entry, the Iloilo City Action and Resilience Centers (ICARe), was held September 25.
Mayor Raisa S. Treñas leads the city’s presentation before Ms. Nieves Confesor, Adjunct Faculty of the Asian Institute of Management and Trustee of the Galing Pook Foundation, with Ms. Edith Ramos, Finance and Administrative Officer of the Galing Pook Foundation, assisting in the validation.
City government department and office heads, along with concerned agencies and partners, are also taking part in the presentation. This is to be followed by site visits to ICARe facilities and activities.
Introduced in 2021 as the Iloilo City Action and Response Centers, ICARe was established to bring life-saving emergency services closer to communities through district-level command hubs. It has since evolved into a network of resilience learning hubs, where government, communities, experts, volunteers, and partners work together to prepare for and address risks. The city now has nine operational ICARe Centers across seven districts.
This is not Iloilo City’s first Galing Pook journey. Dinagyang Festival received the city’s first Galing Pook Award in 2012, recognizing its role in promoting good governance and human capital. The Iloilo-Batiano River Development Project followed in 2018, while the city’s I-BIKE Program earned its third Galing Pook Award in 2022.
The city was also a national finalist in 2024 for the Iloilo City Sports Academy (ICSA). Iloilo City’s RISE-A-FARM Program was also recognized as a finalist for the Galing Pook-Walang Gutom Award
ICARe carries Iloilo City’s continuing work in disaster preparedness and resilience, from faster emergency response and real-time coordination to risk-informed decision-making and stronger community partnerships.
The prestigious Galing Pook Awards recognize innovative local government practices based on results and impact, participation and empowerment, innovation and adaptation, resilience, sustainability, efficiency, and transferability.
