Tacurong joins the Philippine Cities Global Convention and Exposition in Manila

Resorts World, Pasay City (November 17, 2011) – The City of Tacurong gets another chance to showcase itself as it joins other cities in the country in the 3^rd Philippine Cities Global Convention and Exposition, which kicked off today, November 17 at the Resorts World in Pasay City.       

            The convention, first to be hosted by the League of Cities of the Philippines, also gathered cities from other countries such as Japan, Australia and Canada. The event carries the theme ‘Bridging Cities, Transforming Lives’ and aims to put the Philippine Cities at par with their international counterparts.

Mayor Lina Montilla headed the delegation from Tacurong, which included other city officials and heads of the various departments of the city government.

Plenary and breakout sessions were held at the Resorts World and nearby Marriott Hotel where international experts and city officials build network and share inputs on common issues such as climate change, environment, local economy, and urban shelter.  

Participating cities also joined other international and private exhibitors in the exposition that simultaneously opened today at the adjacent new Port City Terminal. With the exposition, the public is given the rare opportunity to see the wonders of the country as cities from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao display the best of their cities. People wanting to buy local products unique in each city are also given a one-stop-shop offer.

 Mayor Montilla, who stayed at the Expo venue the whole morning before proceeding to the convention, got the chance to meet and talk with international entrepreneurs from Japan and officials from Blacktown City, Australia who were also delegates to the convention.

Chris Shannon, a delegate from Blacktown City expressed his amazement to the Baras Bird Sanctuary, one of the centerpiece exhibits of Tacurong in the exposition.

 By knowing more about Tacurong, many people from other parts of the Philippines and other countries have been given a new information on Mindanao geography particularly Tacurong, a budding city in the central part of Southern Philippines.

            The convention and exposition are on until November 19 culminating with a tour to selected cities in Metro Manila to give delegates a personal feel of the issues faced by urban cities as well as let them know of their best programs and practices. (Allan Freno, LGU-Tacurong City)