BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan assured the local government’s sustained support to the annual conduct of the Cordillera food fair geared towards instilling awareness among the residents and visitors on the presence of indigenous food from the different parts of the region worthy of promoting in a larger scale to help in making the presence of Cordillera cuisine felt on a wider scale.
The city chief executive said conduct of the Cordillera food fair annually must be sustained with the hosting to be rotated among the local governments of the Cordillera if the same is possible or for Baguio city or Benguet to host the same to help entice domestic and foreign visitors to partake of famous Cordillera delicacies.
Domogan commended the participants to the first-ever Cordillera food fair known as ‘Mangan Taku’ held at the Rose Garden in Burnham park for actively taking part in a bid to help in bringing Cordillera cuisine to a higher level of promotion toward making the region as one of the favourite food destinations in the country.
The ‘Mangan Taku’ Cordillera food fair is a joint initiative of the Cordillera Offices of the Department of Tourism (DOT-CAR), Department of Agriculture (DA-CAR) and the city government with the support of the different local governments in the region in an effort to provide the public with the opportunity to partake of indigenous cuisines, fusions, among others, highlighting the favourite dishes of the Cordillerans like the ‘pinikpikan,’ ‘binognor’ of Kalinga, ‘sinorsor’ of Apayao, ‘etag’ of Mountain Province, ‘pinunug’ of Ifugao, and other equally delicious foods from the different parts of the region.
“We are elated over the successful conduct of this first Cordillera food fair with Baguio city as the host of its initial staging. We support the annual conduct of the food fair for us to bring to the fore our favourite indigenous foods that deserve to be promoted and consumed,” Domogan stressed.
He admitted that Cordillera food is still not that popular in the country, unlike other delicacies of other regions, thus it is important for Cordillerans to aggressively promoting the region’s favourite cuisine to a higher level for the same to gain the attention of people from all walks of life, especially from those coming from other parts of the country.
The conduct of the Cordillera food fair is pursuant to Proclamation No. 469 issued by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last year which declared the whole month of April as Filipino Indigenous Food month with concerned government agencies and local governments, in partnership with the private sector, creatively promoting and advancing the consumption of indigenous cuisines available in the different parts of the country.
Aside from the favourite cuisines of the different provinces in the region, major products of the provinces were also displayed in the said fair which is expected to end on Sunday, April 14, 2019 and that organizers are expected to ascertain the location of its second edition by April next year.
By Dexter A. See
