The Bacolod City Government and Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) signed a memorandum of agreement on Oct. 8 to support Creative Bacolod, the city government's tourism and cultural platform. Mayor Greg Gasataya and RLC President and CEO Mybelle V. Aragon-GoBio led the signing ceremony at the Bacolod City Government Center.

Under the agreement, Bacolod becomes the first city where RLC will put "Hand in Hand for Progress" into practice. The platform takes its inspiration from the Filipino Bayanihan spirit of communal cooperation, with the Robinsons Land Foundation (RLove) coordinating the company's social responsibility work. Through the initiative, Robinsons Land hopes to work hand in hand with the city government, private-sector partners, institutions, and local communities in support of shared development priorities. The arrangement pairs a public tourism and cultural agenda with private platforms — malls, hotels, offices, and residential communities — that already reach visitors and residents across Bacolod.

A Program Rooted in Bayanihan

Bayanihan in Bacolod draws on the Filipino tradition of working together toward a shared goal. Rather than approaching community development through a series of isolated projects, the initiative brings the Bacolod City Government, Robinsons Land, private-sector partners, institutions, and local communities around a common vision for the city's future, pooling different strengths and capabilities to contribute to the city's progress.

Among the first private-sector partners backing the program are several long-standing Robinsons Land collaborators: W.V. Coscolluela & Associates, a respected architectural and planning firm; SPES Construction, one of the company's trusted construction partners; Boysen and Asian Coatings, recognized leaders in protective and decorative coating solutions; Promain-Property Maintenance and Gardens, which specializes in property upkeep and landscape management; and Davies, known for products and solutions used across built environments. Having worked with Robinsons Land across various developments through the years, these partners are now extending expertise, services, and resources beyond project sites and into the community.

Tourism is one important component of the initiative. "Tourism doesn't exist in a vacuum. Businesses do not exist apart from their neighborhoods. Everything is connected," Ms. Aragon-GoBio said during the signing.

Nearly Three Decades in Bacolod

RLC's relationship with Bacolod dates to 1997, when it opened Robinsons Bacolod, the city's first modern shopping mall and the company's first provincial mall. Its presence has since expanded to include Go Hotels Plus Bacolod, Cybergate Bacolod, and Brighton Bacolod, reflecting nearly three decades of growing alongside the city and its communities.

As RLC marks 46 years of shaping communities across the Philippines, the company is looking at how it can bring the capabilities developed through decades of building malls, offices, hotels, residences, and destination estates beyond its own property lines. "Robinsons Land sees an opportunity to contribute its expertise in planning, placemaking, construction, property management, tourism, hospitality, sustainability, and community building to initiatives that support the broader development of Bacolod," Ms. Aragon-GoBio said.

Equally important, the company says, are the relationships it has built over the years with local governments, contractors, suppliers, institutions, community organizations, and private-sector partners. Through Bayanihan in Bacolod, RLC hopes to leverage these networks to bring together different stakeholders and capabilities in support of shared community priorities.

Commitments Beyond the Property Line

That long-term view is evident in RLC's pledge to help maintain the historic Bacolod Public Plaza after its planned revitalization. The company also plans a tourism lounge at its Bacolod mall, where visitors can find information on local destinations, culture, and events, along with training for transport providers and other tourism frontliners intended to help travelers navigate the city and discover more of what it offers. With Bacolod the first city where Hand in Hand for Progress will be put into practice, these commitments are where the partnership will first become visible on the ground.

"Tourism is one of the most powerful ways to put money directly into the hands of the local people," Ms. Aragon-GoBio said. Small eateries, transport providers, street vendors, and local artisans are among those who stand to benefit when visitors venture beyond the places they already know.

RLC's malls and hotels can direct guests toward local businesses and attractions, while its offices can offer space for exhibits, product fairs, and city promotions to boost Bacolod's Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism. Residents of its communities can also take part in environmental and civic activities.

One Company, Many Levers

Through its One RLC approach, the company can draw on the strengths of its different businesses at once: malls helping to promote local enterprises and tourism destinations, hotels encouraging visitors to explore more of Bacolod, offices providing venues for exhibitions and city promotions, and communities supporting environmental and socio-civic initiatives. Together, these capabilities allow RLC to contribute in ways that build on what it already does best.

Under the arrangement, the city's role is to help identify priorities and opportunities that support Bacolod's long-term development, while Robinsons Land contributes its expertise, resources, relationships, and platforms. Several industry partners have already stepped forward to offer pro bono services, demonstrating how different organizations can contribute their respective strengths toward a shared objective, and Yvonne Garcia-Flores, RLC's head of corporate social responsibility and sustainability, invited other organizations to take part in ways suited to their strengths. "Meaningful change does not require waiting for perfect conditions. It starts when organizations decide to contribute what they can, where they can," she said. From here, the markers to watch are the priorities the city identifies first and how the named commitments — the plaza upkeep, the tourism lounge, and frontliner training — translate into activity across the company's Bacolod properties.

"Tourism is not simply about bringing more people into a city. It is about creating a city that people want to visit, invest in, experience and call home," Ms. Aragon-GoBio said.

Additional information about Hand in Hand for Progress and Robinsons Land's community-building efforts is available at

This article was originally published in Spotlight, BusinessWorld's sponsored content section, under the headline "Building Bacolod with Bayanihan: Robinsons Land looks beyond its developments."