MANILA: Philippine business leaders in Makati City are collaborating with the Department of Tourism to make the country’s financial center an all-encompassing halal hub for both trade and tourism, the head of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Makati chapter said on Saturday.

Makati City in Metro Manila is popularly known as the Philippines’ central business district, hosting the highest concentration of banks and corporations in the country, as well as foreign embassies.

For the last few years, the predominantly Catholic Philippines — where Muslims constitute about 10 percent of the nearly 120 million population — has been working to raise 230 billion pesos ($4 billion) in investments and generate around 120,000 jobs by expanding its domestic halal industry by 2028.

The DoT signed on Friday a memorandum of agreement with PCCI Makati to pool efforts and encourage the implementation of halal standards across hotels and restaurants in the city, as part of an effort to attract Muslim tourists.

“The memorandum signed yesterday with DoT is really to encourage the local establishments in Makati City to participate or embrace the halal standards,” PCCI Makati President Nunnatus Cortez told Arab News.

“These are the initial steps to turn the city into a halal hub; that’s the main objective.” 

PCCI Makati has been a leading figure in efforts to make the city a halal hub.

Friday’s agreement follows a memorandum of understanding the chamber signed last year with the Department of Trade and Industry, which sought to position the city as a central point for innovation and business in the halal sector. 

“Halal, after all, is now a way of life. From the DoT’s point of view, this is how we complete the loop — the entire ecosystem required to support both halal trade and tourism,” Cortez said. 

Earlier this month the Philippines was recognized as a rising Muslim-friendly destination at the Halal in Travel Global Summit, after having achieved a similar feat in previous years. The country’s halal drive has included efforts to cater to Muslim tourists, by ensuring they have access to halal products and services. 

Cortez believes Makati City is at an advantage to boost halal travel as it is the location of many foreign missions, including that of Muslim nations.

“Almost all Muslim embassies are in Makati. We know that foreign delegates, embassy staff, and even their citizens often visit here — and Makati is usually their starting point,” he said. 

“What we’re doing now is trying to capture the attention of all Muslim embassies. If their VIPs or citizens come to Makati and make it their base for activities, then everything else will follow.” 

He believes that efforts to turn Makati into a halal hub will have a ripple effect across the archipelago nation, as the city is widely perceived as a trendsetter for other regions in the Philippines.

He added: “If we can begin by making places like malls and hotels halal-compliant, that would already be a meaningful first step. We believe that whatever Makati does, other cities will follow its lead. That’s our mindset.”