CAGAYAN de Oro City Hall, led by Mayor Rolando Uy, is set to promote the Aquilino Pimentel Jr. International Convention Center as a premier events venue not only in the city but in the entire Northern Mindanao.
The completion of the Cagayan de Oro International Convention Center and exhibition venue, which took almost 20 years, has made it a controversial topic that continues to be discussed even after its construction was finished.
Initially conceptualized by the late Senate President Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. at the beginning of his term in 1998, construction of the facility started in 2001 and was supposed to be complete by 2003.
The construction of the facility began on June 30, 2001, and only finished in 2021 with a P1.335 billion construction cost.
The regional public works and highways department announced the completion of the convention center’s main building on September 8, 2021.
With an initial funding of P125 million in 2000, the convention center aimed to support big events like sports, concerts, conventions, exhibits, seminars, conferences, and trade shows.
The building is designed to accommodate 7,700 people.
The DPWH-10 has already requested funding for the rest of the facilities, including the establishment of the pavilion, car park, deck with helipad, view deck, powerhouse, sewage treatment plant facility, materials recovery facility, and pump house.
Cagayan de Oro serves as the regional hub and economic center of Northern Mindanao.
The city is part of the thriving Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro area, which includes nearby towns and cities such as El Salvador, Opol, Alubijid, Laguindingan, Gitagum, Lugait, Naawan, Initao, Libertad, and Manticao on the western side, and Tagoloan, Villanueva, Jasaan, Claveria, and Balingasag on the eastern side.
According to city hall, it is a state-of-the-art facility that can host large-scale events such as concerts, sports tournaments, and political conventions.
It said with major events like the Philippine Basketball Association, Philippine Volleyball League games, and potential city fiesta activities in mind, the city government aims to boost the convention center's status and attract more events to the city.
The local government also sees the potential of the Convention Center as a venue for the city fiesta-related activities in the venue.
Mayor Uy emphasized the importance of promoting the Convention Center to attract more visitors to the city.
“This is an opportunity to stimulate the local economy by generating revenue from tourism, and thus creating more business opportunities for the city,” Uy said.
On June 15, the Convention Center served as the venue for his City Address and Mayor's Report. It was attended by the City Hall bureaucracy, the 20th City Council, and the city’s barangay leaders.
The event was deemed successful, and it showcased the versatility of the venue to accommodate a large number of attendees.
The City Hall said that it is committed to actively promoting the Convention Center, and has already started to extend invitations to various organizations and groups to hold their events there.
The local government’s efforts to promote the Convention Center are part of its wider goal of making Cagayan de Oro a major destination for tourism and business in the region.
The Convention Center is hailed as one of the biggest facilities in the city, which can accommodate big crowds and notable events in the future such as music concerts and academic conferences.
With the city’s commitment to promoting the Convention Center, it is expected that more events will be held there in the coming months.
“This will be a major boost to the local economy and a significant milestone in the city’s efforts to become a hub for business and tourism in the region,” according to Uy.
Overall, the Aquilino Pimentel Jr. International Convention Center is a valuable asset to the city, and it is heartening to see that the local government recognizes its potential, he said.
“With the right promotion and management, it can become a major draw for visitors and an important contributor to the city's growth and development,” said Uy.
The center also features modern amenities that rival those found in major international cities, including a grand ballroom, a spacious lobby, and a range of meeting rooms.
It has a multi-purpose hall that can accommodate 1,000 guests, a convertible indoor playing court, an exhibit area for 1,500 viewing guests with a demountable partition for flexibility of expansion, 12 function rooms for 1,000 guests, four club rooms with lockers and showers, a cafeteria with approximately 100 seating capacity, and an administrative office, storage room, and other support facilities.
Meanwhile, in an earlier statement made by Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, this key infrastructure is essential to the serious commitment to making Cagayan de Oro City remain in the top most competitive cities in the Philippines and towards becoming the “tourism convention capital” in the Mindanao region.
Despite its completion, the Convention Center continues to have a considerable level of controversy attached to it, including its correct nomenclature.
Former Senate President Pimentel has proposed the site to be named after Pablo P. Magtajas who was mayor of Cagayan de Oro from 1984 to 1998. Magtajas was the one who donated the land on which the facility is built.
On June 2017, also a former Cagayan de Oro Mayor Pimentel Jr. even called on city hall to seriously consider naming the then-unfinished convention after his successor, the late mayor Pablo Magtajas.
In a tribute to Magtajas, a copy of which was e-mailed to this paper, Pimentel urged the local government to name the convention and civic center “Pablo Magtajas Auditorium.”
Reads part of Pimentel’s tribute: “And even for starters alone as a gesture of our people’s gratitude, may I request the administration of Mayor Oscar Moreno to name the building that now stands atop a hill in the city, the ‘Pablo Magtajas Auditorium’ or words to that effect.”
The convention center project, started when Pimentel was still a senator, something that the delay had blamed on the Arroyo administration for allegedly withholding funds amounting to P240.65 million that was set aside for it from 2005 to 2007.
