By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD CITY – Mayor Alfredo “Albee” Benitez is ecstatic that the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) has recognized Bacolod Chicken Inasal as one of the city’s cultural properties.
City Tourism Officer Tere Manalili relayed this news to Benitez on Friday night at the opening of the Bacolod Chicken Inasal Festival at North Capitol Road.
Manalili said she received the acknowledgment from the NCCA via email, adding that the NCCA will send the official document soon.
Benitez told reporters that the NCCA issued a certificate of compliance to the city on May 13, 2024.
“Officially, we can now claim cultural property rights of Bacolod Chicken Inasal, which is one of the most recognized foods in the world. We are very proud that it is one of our cultural properties,” the mayor said.
Benitez said Bacolod Chicken Inasal is the best in the country, if not the world. “As we can see, there are different recipes for it, some marinated with beer, others just made differently.”
“You will not be disappointed when you come to Bacolod and eat Chicken Inasal,” Benitez added.
Benitez led the opening of the Bacolod Chicken Inasal Festival together with Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran and Councilors Celia Flor and Jason Villarosa, whom he congratulated for what he described as a very successful event.
Other city officials present at the opening were Councilors Em Ang, Israel Salanga, Vladimir Gonzalez, Cindy Rojas, Psyche Marie Sy, and department heads.
Flor, chairperson of the city council committee on markets and slaughterhouses, said three areas were designated as festival venues this year to give the crowd options on where to go.
The venues are North Capitol Road, Upper East, and Ayala Malls Capitol Central.
The festival started on Friday and ended on Sunday, May 26, 2024.
It would be more prudent to state that the NCCA acknowledged the submission of the Bacolod City government’s local cultural inventory, which includes Bacolod chicken inasal as one of the city’s cultural properties. I appreciate the article for being straightforward.
“Officially, we can now claim cultural property rights over Bacolod Chicken Inasal, which is one of the most recognized foods in the world. We are very proud that it is one of our cultural properties,” the mayor said.
However, there is no such thing as cultural property rights over an intangible heritage such as cuisine, like chicken inasal. As mentioned in the article, the NCCA issued a certificate of compliance to Bacolod, indicating that they have submitted their local cultural inventory meeting the minimum requirements. The certificate does not specifically mention inasal.