THE first Bacolod Chicken Inasal Festival was launched Sunday at the Manokan Country as the newest festival in the city, set to kick off May 15 until the 20th.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia said “this would be another Bacolod identity as the chicken inasal of Bacolod has already reached popularity and acceptance all over the country.”

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The launching was attended by councilors Alex Paglumotan, chairman of the festival; Roberto Rojas and Catalino Alisbo as well as the chairman of Silver MassKara Festival Eli Francis Tajanlangit, Police Station 1 chief Senior Insp. Luicito Acebuche, officers of the Manokan Country and several private sector representatives.   

Leonardia said one of the assets of the city is that “we have people who excel in the culinary arts and while we have many ways of gaining international popularity already, the native product of Bacolod which is the chicken inasal is now also being popularized.”

Leonardia noted that Bacolod City is also having the BacoLaodiat revelry institutionalized, which happens during the first quarter of the year, the Chicken Inasal Festival in second quarter and the MassKara Festival, which falls in the last quarter of the year. “With these, even just with three major festivals, we believe that we are already number one in the Philippines in terms of festivals.”

“It is a classic example in tourism when the city has created something out of nothing,” he added.

Tajanlangit said Chicken Inasal is one way of bringing into the open or reviving the Manokan Country. He noted that the MassKara Festival draws its own crowd. “So I don’t think there’s really a need to integrate the MassKara and Inasal festivals; let’s give our festivals their own distinct identities which would help the city’s marketing efforts.”

Tajanlangit said they would also launch the globalization of the ‘Bacolod Flavors’ for the world tourism markets where they would start on the chicken inasal. He said they also plan to develop the Korean and Japanese flavored chicken inasal variance.

Meanwhile, Paglumotan said several reasons why the Chicken Inasal Festival in the city was envisioned was due to the influx of air-conditioned chicken inasal venues in several areas of Bacolod. “It appears that the legacy of the original Manokan Country, which was pioneered by several hard working mayors, seems to have vanished.”

He said through the festival, city officials want to revive the economic climate of the Manokan Country where the business of chicken inasal is competitive.

He added that they want to popularize the tourism image of the Manokan Country because it is one of the tourism destinations in Bacolod. Manokan Country has 23 stalls that would serve chicken inasal to tourists and residents alike.

The festival opening will be on May 15 with a grand parade at 3 p.m., starting from the New Government Center (NGC) going to the festival site -- guest speaker is Negros Occidental Governor Isidro Zayco.

Other major activities include a battle of the bands, the best inasal taste competition and inasal preparation, showcase of the five dancers from Boracay and the electric dancers and the giving of awards to those who were part of the creation of the Manokan Country.   

The longest grill will be on May 19 at the north parking area of SM. The city needs 20,000 volunteer to man said event. The Inasal Festival targets one whole chicken per foot or an estimated 18,000 chicken with 800 to 1,000 sacks of charcoal and 72,000 barbecue sticks.

Paglumotan also clarified that the City Government is allotting a P500,000 budget for the festival and not P35-million. He said several private sector entities are helping the city come up with the festival and offered their efforts voluntarily for the success of said event.   

Acebuche, meanwhile, assured that during the celebration, Police Station 1 will maximize the number of policemen assigned to the festival site, which is at the Reclamation Area. He added that from May 15-20, the Ferrero Street would be closed to traffic starting at 6 a.m.