Raisa Treñas: How Do You Build a City for Everyone?

The Century of Cities welcomes Mayor Raisa Treñas of Iloilo City as part of our special series recorded in Singapore in association with the World Cities Summit Mayors Forum and the Centre for Liveable Cities. Once a major sugar-exporting centre, Iloilo experienced economic decline and underinvestment before embarking on a remarkable revival rooted in good governance, environmental restoration, heritage, and inclusive growth. Today, the city is emerging as one of the Philippines' fastest-growing urban economies. Raisa has a different ambition for Iloilo: not to become a megacity, but to become a better city for everyone. She shares how restoring the Iloilo River, investing in health and education, strengthening climate resilience, and bringing citizens into the process are reshaping the city. She imagines a place where culture, technology, nature, and human-centred development work together, and where the city's future is shaped by its citizens.