By Sean Rafio
Bacolod’s famous grilled chicken or “inasal na manok” has been declared an “Important Cultural Property” (ICP).
The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod approved an ordinance that declared Chicken Inasal as an ICP under the ‘’Chicken Inasal Cultural Property Rights Ordinance.’’
Authored by Councilor Em Ang, chairperson of the Committee on History, Culture, and Arts, the ordinance noted that food critic website TasteAtlas ranked chicken inasal as the 5th Best Chicken Dish in the World.
TasteAtlas recognized Aida’s Manokan in Bacolod as having the best inasal na manok in the world, with high praises from 14 food critics.
In the 1970s, Bacolod City had a “Chicken Alley” before the renowned Manokan Country, a street lined with food stalls serving freshly charcoal-grilled chicken inasal, according to the ordinance.
The purpose of the ordinance was to recognize and include Chicken Inasal in the repository of all cultural properties in the Philippines.
Ang and the City Tourism Office are working on having it registered with the Philippine Registry on Cultural Properties (PRECUP), established and maintained by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts as mandated by the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 (Republic Act No. 10066).
