今回は、フィリピンのイロイロという都市を紹介したい。あまり知名度が高く無いかも知れないが以下の通り魅力的な都市。セブと同じビサヤ諸島（※）に属し、パナイ島にあるフィリピン主要都市。地図の通りセブからも近い。

This time, I would like to introduce the city of Iloilo in the Philippines. It may not be very well known, but it is an attractive city as follows. Iloilo is a major city in the Philippines located on the island of Panay, belonging to the Visayas (*) like Cebu. As you can see on the map, it is close to Cebu.

※フィリピンの地域区分は「ルソン島」「ビサヤ諸島」「ミンダナオ島」の３区分に分けるのが大区分。１７地方、８1州と細かくなっていく。因みにイロイロは17地方区分「Western Visayas (Region Ⅵ）」の地方都。

(*) Philippines consists of ”Luzon” “Visayas” and “Mindanao”, and also divided into 17 regions and 81 provinces. Iloilo is the capital of Western Visayas (Region VI).

歴史的には、スペインによる植民地化の前から栄えており、砂糖、ココナツ、バナナ、マンゴーといった農産物の重要拠点。歴史を感じさせる立派な教会や建物もある。港に近い中華街にも雰囲気がある。

Historically, it flourished before the Spanish colonization and is an important center for agricultural products such as sugar, coconuts, bananas, and mangoes. There are some fine churches and buildings that remind us of the history. The Chinatown near the port also has an atmosphere.

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イロイロには立派な国際空港があり、JICAや日本のゼネコンが建設に携わったと聞く。残念ながら日本からの直行便は無いので、マニラからアクセスとなる。空港から市街への道路も整備されている。道路沿いには大きなショッピングセンターも。2015年にフィリピンがホストを務めたAPECではイロイロのConvention Centerにて主要会議を一部行ったが、その開催が空港や道路の整備に大きく影響したと思う。

Iloilo has a magnificent international airport, and I heard that JICA and Japanese general contractors were involved in its construction. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights from Japan, so you have to get there from Manila. The road from the airport to the city is wonderful. The Philippines hosted APEC in 2015, and some of the major meetings were held at the Convention Center in Iloilo, which I think had a big impact on the development of the airport and roads.

イロイロは、Andrew Tan氏率いるMegaworldが開発を行っている。コンベンションセンター周辺には大規模な商業施設があり、まだまだ開発途上。写真のとおり、この一帯は別世界。びっくりしました。

Iloilo is being developed by Megaworld, led by Andrew Tan. The area around the convention center is still under development with large scale commercial facilities. As you can see in the picture, this whole area is a different world. Amazing.

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大学も多く、BPO（Business Process Outsource）が盛んになりそうだ。BPOはフィリピンの一大産業となっており、誰もが知っているグローバル企業の事務処理拠点やコールセンターがフィリピンに多く存在する。人件費の安さ、英語力を活かしたフィリピンの重要第三次産業。

There are many universities in Iloilo, and BPO (Business Process Outsource) is likely to flourish. BPO has become a major industry in the Philippines, and many of the administrative processing bases and call centers of well known global companies exist in the Philippines. It is an important industry in the Philippines, taking advantage of low labor costs and English language skills.

旧市街はフィリピンの歴史ある都市といった感じで人混みはあるものの、何となくのんびりした雰囲気。イロイロの別名を「愛の街」と呼ぶそうで、私の職場のイロイロ出身者もイロイロ出身であることをすごく誇りに思っていたことを思い出す。住みやすい街NO1に選ばれたこともあるようだ。治安も良いらしい。セブが語学留学では有名だが、イロイロにも語学留学する日本人が増えているらしい。勿論、コロナ禍で今はどこもダメでしょうが。

The old town was like a historic city in the Philippines, crowded but somehow relaxed. Iloilo is also known as the “City of Love,” and I remember that a colleague from Iloilo was very proud to be from Iloilo. I heard that Iloilo was once chosen as the No. 1 city to live in. I heard that the city is also very safe. Cebu is famous for English language study for Japanese, but it seems that more and more Japanese are coming to Iloilo for English language study. Of course, now is very difficult for them to come to the Philippines due to Covid19 pandemic.

私は２度しか行ってないが、住んでみたい都市の候補。外国人は土地が買えない規制があるため、コンドミニアムに住むことを中心に考える必要があるが、コンドミニアムが少ないためか、かなり価格が高いことが気になる。土地付きの住宅を安く借りられればその方が良いかも知れない。

I have only been there twice, but it is a candidate for a city I would like to live in. Since there are restrictions on foreigners not being able to buy land, I need to focus on living in a condominium, I am concerned that the prices are quite high, probably because there are so few condos. If I can rent a house with land at a reasonable price, that might be a better option.

次回はイロイロから少し足を伸ばして、ギマラス島を紹介。

Next time, I will introduce Guimaras Island close to Iloilo cily.