ILOILO CITY — Iloilo City Mayor Jose Epinosa III has invited South Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Han Dong-Man to come back to Iloilo so he could present to him possible areas of investments.
The Korean ambassador was in this city last week and met with local leaders, including Espinosa. He also feted two Ilonggo soldiers — 2Lt Ramon P. Celeste and Pfc. Felix J. Gallardo — who served during the Korean War with the “Ambassador of Peace” recognition.
“I invited him to come back and we will present some areas of investments in the city. We will brief them about the economic prospects and direction of the city,” Espinosa said in a follow up interview on Thursday.
The mayor added that there are a lot of “areas for cooperation” the Korean community and this city could embark into.
He particularly cited education since a lot of (Korean) schools are sprouting here. Another area of cooperation is sports as most golfers who visit Iloilo are Koreans, Espinosa said.
Espinosa together with Tiger Moon, a Korean who is based in this city, also brought up the possibility of working out a direct flight from Korea to Iloilo.
The mayor also invited the ambassador to witness the city’s Charter Day Celebration in August or if not, during the Korean Week, which is held in September.
Espinosa also said that he expressed gratitude to the envoy for the support of the Korean community in Iloilo, adding that its nationals here are “very happy” and they have plenty of investments such as schools and supermarkets.
He said that the Technical Institute of Iloilo City (TIIC) was a recipient of PHP3 million worth of equipment donated by a Rotary Club in South Korea. TIIC is an accredited training partner of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
Also, the Seoul Metropolitan Fire will donate two fire trucks to this city.
The mayor was informed that Koreans still prefer to stay in Iloilo City although their population has dropped to close to 4,000 from the previous 12,000. (Perla Lena/PNA)
