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The Iloilo River Esplanade is a urban
esplanade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...
and
linear park A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and Esplanade, shorelines. Examples o ...
along the Iloilo River in
Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...
,
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. It stretches on both sides of the river, from Carpenter Bridge in
Mandurriao Mandurriao () is a Districts of Iloilo City, district in Iloilo City, Philippines. It is the second-largest district by geographical area as well as the third-most populous district, with 62,240 people in the 2020 census. Mandurriao is one of t ...
and Molo districts to Muelle Loney (Drilon) Bridge in the
City Proper A city proper is the geographical area contained within city limits. The term ''proper'' is not exclusive to city, cities; it can describe the geographical area within the boundaries of any given locality. The United Nations defines the term as " ...
and Lapuz districts. It is the longest linear park in the Philippines and was designed by landscape architect and PGAA Creative Design founder Paulo Alcazaren. The project is part of the Iloilo River Rehabilitation Project. The esplanade has become one of the most popular
attractions Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...
in Iloilo City for both locals and tourists since its opening on August 18, 2012. It currently consists of 13 sections connected by 11 bridges and continues to expand. One of its expansions is along the Dungon Creek in Mandurriao and Jaro, as well as the Iloilo Sunset Boulevard, which extends along the river from Mandurriao to
Oton Oton, officially the Municipality of Oton (; , , ), is a municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 98,509 people making it as the most populous town in the province and the entire ...
.


History


Dike road

The road, formally known as Senator Efrain Treñas Boulevard, was built in 2008 to help ease traffic congestion on congested
General Luna Street General Luna Street is a major thoroughfare in Iloilo City Proper in Iloilo City, Philippines. It runs east–west, from the intersection of Aquino and Infante Avenues to the Iloilo Provincial Capitol, serving as one of the main thoroughfares con ...
. The site was an existing dike road devoid of shade and also originally built chiefly as a flood control measure. Locals, on the other hand, used the road for recreation, such as jogging and biking. The Iloilo City Government realized and reconsidered it, and decided to build a linear park instead of a road.


Designing and river rehabilitation

The city government gave in to public clamor and started work on developing the riverside stretch into a public park. Former Senate President
Franklin Drilon Franklin Magtunao Drilon (; born November 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and former politician. He has served thrice as president of the Senate: in 2000, from 2001 to 2006, and from 2013 to 2016. Having also served as Senate president pro te ...
supported the project with funds from his Priority Development Assistance Fund, along with former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog and incumbent Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas (at the time, an Iloilo City congressman), and launched the esplanade project as a key component of their Iloilo River Improvement initiative. The Iloilo River Development Council was at the forefront of the campaign for rehabilitating the river, which also involved various sectors, including private business groups and educational institutions. Businesses made river cleanups part of their corporate social responsibility projects, while schools made them part of the national service training programs. The administration of former Mayor Jed Mabilog was also able to relocate about 1,000 informal settlers along the river into proper housing sites. Renowned Filipino architect and PGAA Creative Design founder Paulo Alcazaren, who also worked on the Singapore Quay and River Esplanade, was tapped to draw up layouts and designs for the public linear park.


Opening and extensions

The transformation of the boulevard was the initial part of a larger project to provide both sides of the Iloilo River with esplanades catering primarily to pedestrians. On August 18, 2012, the first phase of the project was opened to the public and cost ₱58.7 million. The esplanade was between Iloilo Diversion (Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue) and
Carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...
bridges in Mandurriao district. The project was eventually expanded into the Esplanade 2 on the other side of the river in Molo district, creating a walk-friendly loop between the two bridges. In 2017, more phases of the project were funded and constructed by the
Department of Public Works and Highways The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH; ) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for serving as the country's engineering and construction arm. It is tasked with implementing the government's policy to ...
(DPWH), and they were completed in 2020, with a total length of 9.035 km (5.614 mi) and a total cost of
The Philippine peso sign (₱) is the currency symbol used for the Philippine peso, the official currency of the Philippines. The symbol resembles a Latin script, Latin letter P with two horizontal strokes. It differs from the currency symbol u ...
1.12 billion. The Iloilo River Esplanade became the longest linear park in the country with a total of thirteen phases and that traverses through five of the seven Iloilo City districts: Molo, Mandurriao,
La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...
, Lapuz, and the City Proper. However, the city government announced in 2018 that it would no longer allow the extension of the Iloilo River Esplanade project towards the mouth of the river, citing the discovery that many corporations use the area and would be impacted if the project continued up to the Parola area in the City Proper. In April 2022, the DPWH began the construction of the ₱1.4-billion road project, which will be an alternate route from Iloilo City and towns in southern Iloilo province, connecting Barangay Tabucan in Mandurriao, Iloilo City to Barangay Cagbang in Oton. The road project will be known as the Iloilo Sunset Boulevard and will also include a extension of Iloilo River Esplanade.


Sections and phases

As of 2024, there are a total of 13 sections of the Iloilo River Esplanade.


Dungon Creek Esplanade

The approximately Dungon Creek Esplanade is part of an interconnected network of esplanades in Iloilo City. It is currently being developed along both sides of the Dungon Creek, a
tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...
of the Iloilo River that separates the district of Mandurriao from the districts of Jaro and La Paz.


Iloilo Sunset Boulevard

The Iloilo Sunset Boulevard is a four-lane alternate road that extends from Mandurriao to Barangay Cagbang in Oton. The boulevard runs along the Iloilo River and features extension of the interconnected river esplanade system of the city.


Awards and recognition

The Iloilo River Esplanade has received multiple major awards. These include the 2017 ''GantimPALA'' Excellence Award for Institutional Projects by the Philippine Association of Landscape Architects, 2018 ''Haligi ng Dangal'' Award for the Landscape Architecture category in the 2018
National Commission for Culture and the Arts The National Commission for Culture and the Arts of the Philippines (NCCA; , ) is the official government agency for culture in the Philippines. It is the overall policy making body, coordinating, and grants giving agency for the preservation, d ...
(NCCA) ''Haligi ng Dangal'' Awards, and 2018 ''Galing Pook'' Award for Iloilo River Development by ''Galing Pook'' Foundation. In 2024, the Iloilo River Esplanade was also awarded the Asian Townscape Award (ATA), an initiative by the
United Nations Human Settlements Programme The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1977 as an outcome of the first United Nations Conference on Human Settle ...
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UN-Habitat ROAP), aimed at promoting sustainable urban landscapes in Asia. Iloilo City Government's Iloilo Esplanade has been benchmarked by the other local governments in the country and has inspired other similar public infrastructure projects, including the Iloilo Bike Lane, Bacolod Esplanade, Iligan Esplanade, Malandog Hamtic Antique Esplanade, and San Jose Antique Esplanade, among others.


Gallery

File:Iloilo River Esplanade signage.jpg, Iloilo River Esplanade welcome signage File:Esplanade Iloilo.jpg, First phase of the Esplanade File:Iloilo River Esplanade.JPG, Iloilo River Esplanade at dusk File:Iloilo River Esplanade Sunrise.jpg, Sunset at the Iloilo River Esplanade 1 Extension (Skate Park) File:Iloilo River view from Iloilo Esplanade (Lapuz).jpg, Iloilo River view from the Esplanade in Lapuz district File:Iloilo-River-Esplanade-Fire-Trees.jpg, Fire trees along the esplanade File:Esplanade Iloilo - 8764497551.jpg, Trellises along the esplanade File:Datu Paiburong Monument, Iloilo City, Aug 2024.jpg, Datu Paiburong Monument File:Dinagyang Mural at Iloilo Esplanade, Aug 2024.jpg, Dinagyang Mural


See also

* Iloilo River


Notes


References

{{Iloilo City Parks in Iloilo City Buildings and structures in Mandurriao Buildings and structures in Molo, Iloilo City Buildings and structures in La Paz, Iloilo City Buildings and structures in Lapuz, Iloilo City Buildings and structures in Iloilo City Proper Buildings and structures in Iloilo City Redeveloped ports and waterfronts in the Philippines Tourist attractions in Iloilo City Linear parks Urban public parks