Iloilo City:Iloilo City has been honored with its fourth Galing Pook award for a disaster preparedness and emergency response initiative designed to enhance public safety services within communities.

According to Philippines News Agency, the city's Iloilo City Action and Resilience (ICARe) Centers Decentralizing Risk Governance initiative was recognized as one of the country's Ten Outstanding Local Governance Programs during the 2026 Galing Pook Awards held at Malacañan Palace on Wednesday.

The program is notable for its establishment of nine district-level centers, which house personnel from the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Iloilo City Emergency Responders. These centers are instrumental in coordinating emergency services, achieving response times that average between four to eight minutes.

"This award belongs to the Ilonggos. But more than the recognition, what matters most is that our people receive faster emergency assistance and are better prepared when disasters happen," Mayor Raisa Treñas stated in response to the award.

The ICARe Centers also function as community learning hubs, providing disaster readiness and resilience training. This involves collaboration among barangays, government agencies, private-sector partners, and local communities. The program has successfully trained 91,000 people, engaged 27 volunteer groups, and forged partnerships with over 100 local and international organizations.

Additionally, Iloilo City received its first Galing Pook Resilience Award, sharing this special citation with Baguio City for efforts in integrating climate and disaster risks into local governance, thereby enhancing community resilience.

Iloilo City has previously been recognized with Galing Pook awards for the Dinagyang Festival in 2012, the Iloilo-Batiano River Development Project in 2018, and the I-BIKE sustainable urban mobility program in 2022.