Be it in sports, tourism, agriculture and business, the City of Ilagan has continued to make its mark.
Just a year after being named as the sports tourism hub of the north and third overall throughout the country, Ilagan has added another feather to its cap by being awarded the Most Business Friendly for the second straight year from among Level 2 of Local Government Units in the just-concluded 51st Philippine Business Conference and Expo.
Ilagan City was chosen from among the cities, which belong to the first and second class component cities, but the Corn Capital of the Philippines was adjudged as the winner in Level 2 for the second straight year, besting the other finalists that included the City of Biñan, City of Calamba, City of Legazpi and City of Tarlac.
By winning the most prestigious awards being handed out by the leaders in the business industry, the City of Ilagan is just one title away from becoming a Hall of Famer, which put this hotbed of agriculture, sports and tourism on track of its aspirations of being the livable city by 2030.
‘This is a validation of the efforts of our LGU in terms of business-matching in encouraging our investors. The impact of this award is huge because local, multi-national and international investors will be more attracted in making an investment in the City of Ilagan, Isabela,’ said Mayor Jay Diaz, who received the award on stage.
Diaz credited the support he received from Ricky Laggui, the city’s head of the general services division, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Department of Information and Communication Technology Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguada and Dennis Uy, chief executive officer of Converge ICT and chairman of the 51st Philippine Business Conference and Expo.
Sports is one of the areas where the city has been making its mark.
Since the completion of the 10,000-seater Capital Arena early this year, the city was able to host major sporting events, among them include the preseason game of the PBA between Rain or Shine and Meralco, and brought to the people of the Cagayan Valley some of the games in the Premier Volleyball League where teams like Creamline, Choco Mucho, Farm Fresh, PLDT, Chery Tiggo, Petro Gazz and Galeries Tower were able to take part.
International events such as the upcoming East Asia Super League and The Asian Tournament as well as the Bakbakan Sa Ilagan boxing event were also some of the sporting landmarks the city was able to stage.
On the tourism side, the city is vying for the Asean Clean Tourist City award.
The latest feat as champion of Level 2 in the 51st PBC and E for the second straight year, capped another big year for Ilagan City.
‘More than the accolade and the award, we were able to uplift our fellow Ilaguenos in making Ilagan a livable city in 2030. We are trying to increase our purchasing power and strengthen our pillars in making Ilagan as a city with a robust economy,’ added Mayor Diaz.