Business leaders in Makati City are joining forces with the Philippines’ Department of Tourism to transform the nation’s premier financial district into a complete halal destination that serves both commercial and tourism sectors.

Known as the Philippines’ central business district, Makati City houses the country’s largest concentration of financial institutions, multinational corporations, and diplomatic missions within Metro Manila.

The initiative comes as the predominantly Catholic Philippines – where Muslims represent approximately 10 percent of its nearly 120 million citizens – pursues an ambitious goal to attract 230 billion pesos ($4 billion) in investments and create roughly 120,000 employment opportunities through domestic halal industry growth by 2028.

Strategic Partnership Formalized

The Department of Tourism formalized its collaboration with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Makati chapter on Friday through a memorandum of agreement. This partnership aims to promote halal certification standards throughout the city’s hospitality sector, including hotels and dining establishments, to better serve Muslim travelers.

“Yesterday’s memorandum with the Department of Tourism serves to motivate Makati City’s local businesses to adopt halal standards,” explained PCCI Makati President Nunnatus Cortez in an interview with Arab News.

“These represent the foundational steps toward establishing the city as a halal center – that’s our primary goal.”

Building on Previous Initiatives

The chamber has been instrumental in driving Makati’s halal transformation efforts. This latest agreement builds upon a previous memorandum of understanding signed with the Department of Trade and Industry last year, which aimed to establish the city as a hub for halal sector innovation and commerce.

“Halal represents a complete lifestyle approach. From the tourism department’s perspective, this creates the comprehensive framework – the complete support system needed for both halal commerce and travel,” Cortez noted.

Recognition and Momentum

The Philippines recently gained recognition as an emerging Muslim-friendly travel destination at the Halal in Travel Global Summit this month, building on similar acknowledgments from previous years. The country’s halal initiatives have focused on ensuring Muslim visitors have reliable access to compliant products and services.

Strategic Advantages

Cortez believes Makati City possesses unique advantages for promoting halal tourism, particularly due to its role as home to numerous foreign diplomatic missions, including those from Muslim-majority nations.

“Nearly all Muslim embassies operate from Makati. We understand that foreign officials, embassy personnel, and their citizens frequently visit here – with Makati typically serving as their initial destination,” he observed.

“Our current strategy involves engaging all Muslim embassies in the area. When their distinguished visitors or citizens choose Makati as their operational base, everything else naturally develops from there.”

Ripple Effect Expectations

The chamber president anticipates that Makati’s halal hub development will influence similar initiatives throughout the Philippines, given the city’s reputation as a trendsetter for other regions nationwide.

“By starting with halal compliance in key venues like shopping centers and hotels, we can achieve significant initial progress. We’re confident that other cities will emulate whatever Makati accomplishes. That’s our strategic approach,” Cortez concluded.

Original Article:

Arab News. (2025, July 2). Philippines’ financial center taps tourism department to become halal hub. https://www.arabnews.com/node/2606166/world