THE last day of the Suroy Suroy Sugbo northern escapade featured the five northern towns' homegrown delicacies, including pintos, tuba, budbod kabog, and masi.
On the finale of the three-day Suroy Suroy on Thursday, January 25, 2024, participants visited Bogo City and the municipalities of Tabogon, Borbon, Catmon, and Liloan.
The first stop of Suroy Suroy's third day itinerary was Bogo City, where participants were greeted with a fresh air and overlooking view at C88 Leisure Park in the upland barangay of Dakit.
Bogo City Mayor Carlo Jose Martinez, in his speech on Thursday, said they chose to hold the event there to bless the place as the City Hall had just recently acquired the area.
Martinez said they will be developing the place into an ecopark.
Participants indulged themselves with the city's delicacy -- pintos.
Pintos is a steamed corn sweet tamales wrapped in a corn husk.
Photo by Kaiser Jan FuentesNext stop was the Municipality of Tabogon. Some of the food prepared by the town were kamote, or sweet potato fries, biko or sweet rice cake, and taho, a Filipino snack made of fresh soft, silken tufo, arnibal, and sago pearl.
With the venue near the sea at Paseo Tabogon, participants found themselves enjoying the fresh sea breeze while listening to Marielle Montellano, a Tabogon native who won ABS-CBN's Tawag ng Tanghalan in 2023.
One of the highlights in Tabogon visit was the 21-year-old Carlo Inoc, who demonstrated his artistic prowess by depicting Tabogon's marine life richness on the wall of Paseo Tabogon.
Inoc, a third-year Bachelor of Science in Information Technology in Cebu Technological University (CTU)-Tabogon, grew up with physical limitations, but this did not stop him from painting.
Inoc, in an interview at the sidelines of the Suroy-Suroy, said it was his first time to get a project as significant as the wall of Paseo Tabogon.
Prior to his participation in the Suroy-Suroy, Inoc had also worked on a major project in SM Seaside City, a mall located in South Road Properties, Cebu City.
Tabogon's weavers from Barangay Manlagtang also displayed their woven products at the venue.
The 67-year-old Rudy Ylanan, one of the weavers who showcased his products during the event, said he can complete a woven basket in just half a day.
Ylanan started such a livelihood in 1980. He also makes woven table, chairs, and basket on different shapes and sizes.
The participants were then treated with Borbon's tuba, or coconut wine, on their next stop at the Municipality of Borbon.
Borbon welcomed the guests with an array of offerings that make Borbon stand out, notably its coconut-based products, including "tuba" or coconut wine.
One of the highlights was the tuba-flavored ice cream, a delightful fusion of sweetness, tanginess, and a subtle hint of sourness. Visitors devoured this unique treat, savoring the tropical essence of Borbon even in the cold weather.
They also tried another coconut product, locally known as "tira-tira" or coconut candy.
Mayor Noel Dotillos, in his speech, emphasized his appreciation for the tourists taking time to visit their town. He hoped that tourists were able to encapsulate Borbon's spirit despite the short visit.
As the program concluded, tourists were provided with plastic bags to take home as many local products as possible.
Situated 83 kilometers northward of Cebu City, Borbon is a fourth-class municipality under the fifth district of Cebu.
By the time the participants reached the town of Catmon, the rains got heavier, but the warm greetings of the residents made the rain a little less hassle.
Catmon is the fourth stop of the last day itinerary of the Suroy Suroy. The participants arrived in the town around 6 p.m.
Due to the heavy rains, the tourists were given plastic bags to take home the town's delicacies like budbod kabog and budbod pilit.
Budbod kabog is a local cake roll made from millet seeds.
Catmon Delicacy Vendor Association president Buchi Estenzo said budbod kabog is made of kabog, or millet seeds, coconut milk, and sugar.
Estenzo said what makes budbod in Catmon different from the others is it's an heirloom and the ingredients used have high nutrients.
"Lumad na sya, karaan, and daghan pud sya og nutritious value," said Estenzo in an interview with SunStar Cebu.
Estenzo's association, composed of 25 members, was among the groups who have benefited from the Suroy Suroy as the Catmon Municipal Hall ordered the budbod kabog displayed at the venue from their group.
The three-day tour concluded in the town of Liloan where participants were treated with the town's delicacies like rosquillos and masi.
At the municipal hall grounds, rosquillos maker demonstrated how to make the delicacy in front of the tourists.
Rosquillos is a round and golden brown with scalloped-edges cookie famous in the town.
According to previous SunStar reports, rosquillos was first made by Margarita “Titay” Frasco in 1907. She used to give it for free to customers who bought drinks to her.
Vendors of masi, a pastry made of glutinous rice ball with a peanut and muscovado filling, which is famous in the Liloan, also displayed the delicacy and served it to the participants of the Suroy Suroy.
While enjoying their meals, tourists were treated with performances of local artists singing contemporary Cebuano music.
In his speech on behalf of Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, Provincial Board Member Andrei “Red” Duterte, chairman of the committee on tourism, announced that the 15 local government units (LGUs) included in the first leg of this year's Suroy Suroy will be receiving P1 million subsidy from the Capitol.
The amount will be an additional to the P600,000 subsidy given earlier to the LGUs to financially help them in their preparations for the tourism initiative.
The 15 LGUs included in the Suroy Suroy Sugbo northern escapade 2024 were Consolacion, Compostela, Carmen, Sogod, Medellin, Daanbantayan, San Remigio, Santa Fe, Madridejos, Bantayan, Bogo City, Tabogon, Borbon, Catmon and Liloan.
Duterte said the governor was happy and satisfied with the preparations made by the 15 LGUs for the Suroy Suroy, thus the subsidy.
The Suroy Suroy Sugbo northern escapade was a three-day tour from January 23 to January 25.
Suroy Suroy Sugbo is a Capitol-led tourism program meant to attract local and foreign tourists, aiming to boost the economy of the host municipalities and cities in the province. (JJL, KJF)