ONCE again, Eastern Visayas held the annual Oktubafest, a wine tasting event that promotes tuba, a local wine extracted from coconut.
On Friday, October 13, local officials and tuba producers gathered for the 8th Oktubafest at the Leyte Park Hotel Grounds in Tacloban City. The event was sponsored by the An Waray Partylist.
“We need to have perseverance because it is not doing well right now, but there are still places in Samar and Leyte that can still produce,” said An Waray Partylist Representative Victoria Isabel Noel.
Noel was referring to the impact of Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 that damaged coconut trees, hence, significantly reducing the production of tuba.
Just like in previous Oktubafest, delegation from various schools, restaurants and local government units competed for four categories -- best tuba-infused dish, best kutil (tuba mixed with egg and milk), best bahal (fermented tuba for months) and best bahalina (fermented tuba for a year).
Winners in this year’s competition are Colegio De La Salle for best kutil; Datamex for best tuba-infused dish (school and restaurant category) and Burauen town (local government category).
Best bahal winners are EF Winery from Palo twon. The producer also earned the public’s choice award. For the best bahalina, the entry from Barugo town won. The entry of Burauen town entry was the public choice for best bahalina category.
Palo and Barugo are towns in Leyte that are known to produce the best quality of tuba.
“We all have ways to help other people in the region, like Oktuba let us find for other ways of how we can give assistance to others because we were all there once and it matters to them,” said former An Waray Partylist representative Bem Noel, the brainchild of this event.
This year’s Oktubafest was a surprise with the presence of Leyte first district Representative Yedda Marie Romualdez, whose family had political rifts with An Waray Partylist in the past elections.
“I commend you for continuously supporting our coconut farmers. I hope that you will continue allow me to be part of any future activity of An Waray. I would be happy to support you,” Romualdez said.
This is the first time that a member of Romualdez political clan graced the Oktubafest since it was launched in 2008 by the An Waray Partylist.
Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla and Palo Mayor Remedios Petilla also joined the event and expressed their support to the project that aims to uplift the coconut industry of the region.
Leyte second district Representative Henry Ong, Department of Tourism Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes and municipal mayors from Southern Leyte, Eastern Samar and Leyte also attended the festival.
Tuba is also referred to as a poor man's drink because of its inexpensive distillation process and is a more accessible alcoholic drink in Eastern Visayas.
The wine is completely organic, with just coconut sap added with “barok,” a mangrove bark that is known for its medicinal properties.
The Oktubafest is staged every year to help promote tuba and other coconut by-products as leading sources in agricultural economy of Eastern Visayas farmers.
The competition aims to revitalize and enrich the tuba industry to help harness Eastern Visayas' culinary and cultural heritage.
Oktubafest is a combination of the words Oktubre, tuba and festival. The event is patterned after the famous Octoberfest in Germany. (PNA)