TACLOBAN CITY – The city government of Ormoc is hosting a showcase of various local dishes in the fourth district of Leyte in line with the celebration of the Filipino Food Month.
Local delicacies from the towns of Albuera, Isabel, Kananga, Matag-ob, Merida, Palompon, and Ormoc City are displayed and being sold at the Food Bazaar: Love Lokal: Flavours at the Ormoc City Quadrangle
The food bazaar is open from 11 am to 11 pm every day until May 30.
Aside from local delicacies like bibingka, suman, kutsinta, puto, and pineapple tart, other products sold at the bazaar includes dried dangit, bahalina, coconut virgin oil, and cookies, among others.
Visitors may also buy food from stalls that offer an array of dishes from Filipino like lechon, pansit, barbeque, Korean, and Japanese.
“Let this be a fantastic food journey for each and every one,” Mayor Richard Gomez said during the opening ceremony.
April is the designated as the Filipino Food Month or ‘Buwan ng Kalutong Pilipino’ which aims to appreciate, preserve, promote, and spread the Filipino culinary traditions to future generations through Presidential Proclamation No. 469 signed in April 2018.
This activity, spearheaded by the Department of Tourism, Department of Agriculture, National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), and the Philippine Culinary Heritage Movement (PCHM), also aims to support not only the tourism industry but also to help farmers, and local producers to sell their produce.
Krsytel Morfe, NCCAs National Food Month project manager, lauded the Ormoc City for hosting the event.
“Let us continue to value our Filipino culinary heritage and traditions as one Filipino people with a strong sense of nationhood and respect for cultural heritage,” she said.
“We hope to bring forward greater awareness about the different issues on food security, food sufficiency, and the important of farm-to-plate or the food value chain approach in the economic and agriculture sector,” she added.
The event was also joined by the lead organizers of Food Bazaar: Love Lokal: Flavours of the 4th District of Leyte headed by Rep. Lucy Torres Gomez; Estrella Maria Pangilinan, president of Ormoc Festival and Cultural Foundation and Matag-ob Mayor Michael Torrevillas.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)