ILOILO City – The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) passed a resolution declaring Iloilo City and Iloilo province as food haven of the Philippines.
Declaring as such “could pave way for the realization of a sustainable tourism development”, according to the resolution sponsored by Councilor Rudolph Jeffrey Ganzon.
Iloilo City has a “unique way” of capturing the taste buds and the stomach of local and foreign tourists and continues to aim to give a meaningful and extraordinary experience of the Ilonggo cooking, the SP further cited.
The UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines (UNACOM) has also invited the city government to join this year’s call for Application for Creative Cities Network Programme (UCCN) to be designated as Creative City of Gastronomy by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network.
Since 2014, Iloilo City has been holding the Western Visayas’ Tabu-an Ilonggo Heritage Cooking Competition to showcase llonggo cuisine as well as cooking in a traditional way, the SP stated.
Tourism secretary Bernadette Puyat also recognized the uniqueness of the Ilonggo flavors
“Iloilo, as a gastronomic hotspot, offers two of the country’s well-loved dishes – the La Paz Batchoy and Pancit Molo,” she said.
The legislative body also acknowledged Ilonggo cuisine and culture champion Rafael “Chef Tibong” Jardeleza Jr.
The Ilonggo cuisine also prides its popular Ilonggo stew – KBL (kadyos, langka, baboy). This is cooked with pork, jack fruit, dark purple beans (pigeon peas), locally known as kadyos, and souring agent batuan (Garcinia binucao), a hard dark green fruit.
It also has laswa, a medley of vegetables found in the backyards or easily accessed from the market, the resolution further read./PN
