Irresistible Iriga

When I visited Iriga City a few months ago to tape episodes of ABS-CBN’s Boy & Kris and to judge the Miss Iriga contest, we were treated to a food feast by my friend Mayor Madel Alfelor Gazmen. Mayor Madel had a beautiful buffet dinner (consisting of laing, tinoktok, adobo, sinarapan, the world’s smallest fish located in the waters of Lake Buhi) set up on top of Ilian Hill. And from the top, we could see the beautiful view of Iriga City. We were also entertained with the music of UNEP (University of Northeastern Philippines) Chorale. UNEP members performed like they were in Carnegie Hall. I could hardly understand the song because it was in gibberish. I asked someone to interpret it for me and he said, UNEP was performing a song that was meant to ward off bad spirits. UNEP is world class. It has won competitions here and abroad. Mayor Madel takes pride of the Irigueño and what an Irigueño can do.

Iriga is one of the most exciting and most dynamic cities in the Bicol region. The seat of government is found at a sparkling two-story, three-building complex that took months to build. The new Iriga City Hall was unveiled last September. With its simple but modern architecture and eye-catching colors of cream, orange and yellow, the new city hall has become a landmark in the city.

Another remarkable site that is earning raves is the Gawad Kalinga Village located at the foot of a mountain, at Barangay Perpetual Help. Gawad Kalinga Village is composed of 120 residences for lower-income families. These are colorful homes inspired by Italian architecture. They are so quaint that that the community resembles a European town.

“We are happy that Gawad Kalinga has selected Iriga to be the location of its designer village,” says Mayor Madel. “Out of 3,000 GK villages in the whole Philippines, there are only five GK designer villages. The inclusion of Iriga in that special list speaks well of our place as a city and the Irigueños as a people.”

Mayor Madel recently completed the City Development Strategies (CDS) workshop. The CDS is an initiative of World Bank that links city mayors with international economic experts. Through the CDS, Mayor Madel was able to find partners and sponsors for seven of Iriga’s Top 10 Priority Programs, particularly the management and protection of Mt. Iriga, “rainforestation” of their wooded areas, building of their farm-to-market roads, completion of their city hall and the construction of the Iriga City Public Library.

“It was very tough,” Madel says of her experience at the CDS. Not only did she travel from Iriga to Metro Manila several times a week to attend the seminars, she also had to defend her proposals to a panel of financial experts. “It was like going through college thesis all over again, but only more challenging and nerve-wracking,” adds this graduate of the University of the Philippines. “But it was worth it because we can continue the development that we started in Iriga.”

One of the things that impressed the CDS panel about Iriga and its government is its environmental advocacy. Out of its 17,400 hectare-land area, 78 percent is agricultural, 16 percent is built-up while six percent is made up of forested areas. The lush greenery enveloping the city inspires Irigueños to preserve and protect its natural resources.

Unfortunately, Mt. Iriga is slowly being denuded because of illegal logging and kaingin activities for coal (uling). To combat this, the local government has embarked on a three-pronged approach: reforestation, alternative livelihood and vigilance.

“We are planting more trees that are endemic to Iriga like mahogany, narra, gemilina and coconut,” Madel elaborates. As for the matter about kaingin, the government teaches the aetas living in the mountains to avoid kaingin and instead focus on farming. The aetas are also given employment in the city. When the city had a drainage de-silting recently, the aetas were hired for the project.

Working together for the good of the community is a trait that is inherent to the Irigueños. “We take pride in our strength and goodness of character,” declares Mayor Madel. She cites for instance the zero crime rate, cleanliness and the peace and order of her city. “You will feel very safe in Iriga. A Central Bank employee left her suitcase with important papers and cash in the tricycle. The driver returned the suitcase untouched.”

Value-formation is an important part of the school curriculum, with 30 minutes devoted to the subject each day in class. “We are seeing the results of the program firsthand. Like when we had our 40th Foundation Day celebration recently, wherein we had a parade and drum and bugle and majorette competitions. After the festivities, the children picked up the trash and their teachers didn’t have to tell them to do so. They just did it on their own,” says Madel.

To boost the spirit of cityhood further, Madel commissioned Noel Cabangon to compose and sing a city theme song. Titled Beautiful City of Iriga, the sweet and soothing tune is played at events in the city. Irigueños know the song, sing it and imbibe its message.

“Iriga used to be known as the hometown of Nora Aunor and the origin of the Alatco train line,” says Madel. “But there is so much more to discover and celebrate about our beloved city, and we’d like to share this with our countrymen and the rest of the world.”