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Iloilo Paraw Regatta Festival and “Pamahaw” search for Ilonggo breakfast have been chosen as finalists for the 4th Best Tourism Practices Award during the 10th Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) Annual Convention in General Santos City October 1-4.

“Paraw” and “Pamahaw” are vying for the best tourism eventS in the categories of sports/adventure and arts/culture respectively during the awarding ceremonies on October 3 with Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Joseph Ace Durano conferring the awards to the winners.

ATOP vice-president for Luzon Victoria Fuentes who also chairs the awards committee and national president Roselyn Armida Merlin wrote Mayor Jerry Treñas to inform about the best tourism awards. City Tourism Officer Ben Jimena is attending the ATOP convention.

To note, the city’s premiere celebration and world-famous Dinagyang Festival was adjudged the country’s best tourism event for three consecutive years by ATOP.

The Iloilo Paraw Regatta is dubbed as “The Oldest Traditional Craft Event in Asia” and “The Largest Sailing Event in the Philippines.”

Truly, an Ilonggo event and Iloilo’s original festival, Paraw Regatta is the history, culture, tradition, arts, sportsmanship and the world renowned Ilonggo seamanship.

The Paraw Regatta is a 36.5-kilometer race among native outriggers in the strait between the island province of Guimaras and Iloilo City. It was inspired by history which dates back in 1212 A.D.

Called a “Paraw” in the local dialect, the native outrigger is a faithful reproduction in design and materials of the sailboats that carried to Panay Island the first Bornean settlers who were in search of a peaceful home.

First organized in 1973, the event was spearheaded by the DOT6 together with Iloilo City, Municipality of Oton, Iloilo, and municipalities of Jordan and Buenavista in Guimaras.

In 2005, it was agreed that a private entity, the Iloilo Paraw Regatta Foundation, Inc. (IPRFI) shall manage the affairs of the festival for consistency.

The sailing event was widely welcomed by all sectors of the community and was readily assisted with the full cooperation of a host of government agencies, non-government and civic organizations, private sector, and the media.

Since then, the Iloilo Paraw Regatta has grown in size and renown. The sailboats since then survived the centuries and became a vital part of the Ilonggo culture and tradition in the seafaring life.

The exciting event is participated by skilled fisher folks and sailing enthusiasts not only from Iloilo and Guimaras and nearby provinces in Panay Island but all over the country as well.

From its humble beginnings, the race which was a simple visual manifestation of Ilonggo expertise in the field of seafaring has inspired the various sectors of the community to integrate and further showcase the various aspects of Ilonggo excellence.

Thus, the Iloilo Paraw Regatta has metamorphosed into a full-blown festival incorporating Ilonggo excellence and ingenuity in various fields such as the visual arts, dance, music, culinary expressions and other interests.

Meanwhile, Jimena said “Pamahaw” is a search for a typical authentic Ilonggo Breakfast which shall become a regular fare of the local restaurants and other food outlets.

The culinary project is a shift from the usual tourism activities like festival and destination promotions. It takes a different path of drawing people to visit the place by way of the cravings for food, by way through the stomachs, and by way of the emerging interest in culinary tourism. It also takes tourism to the gastronomy region of Iloilo .

The three things best remembered by visitors are Dinagyang, Ilonggo foods, and the Ilonggos captivation of being hospitable and friendly as shown in a recent survey made by a consulting firm commissioned to look into the state of tourism industry in the Metro Iloilo and Guimaras areas.

Taking a cue from these findings, the City Tourism and Development Office (CTDO) thought of capitalizing on the city’s other attraction – food, thus, the search for Ilonggo Breakfast or “Pamahaw.”

The CTDO partnered with the academe to take care of putting together the rules and guidelines. Schools offering courses on hotels and restaurant management, tourism, and the culinary arts were asked to join the team in setting up the criteria for the contest, and to field student contestants.

The members of Iloilo Hotels Restaurants Resorts Association (IHRRA) and Iloilo Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB) were tapped to promote the project, encourage their cooking staff to join the contest’s open category. They shall also introduce the winning Ilonggo Breakfast in their establishments as part of the menu and shall be offered side by side with the American and Filipino bills of fare.

To make it distinctly Ilonggo, the “Pamahaw” recipe must be an original concoction or mix of food intended as the day’s first meal, making use of locally grown raw materials and locally processed foodstuff. It must be affordable and low-priced and easy to cook – a short-order menu. It must be a healthy, nutritious, and comestible.

“Pamahaw” took on another medium of local culture and another component of tourism. It brought food to a higher level of public awareness and gave Ilonggo dishes a big push to attract visitors to the place.
While in the past, local cuisine was taken as just one of those basic needs of travelers, “Pamahaw” gave Ilonggo food a principal role as one of the drivers of tourism development. (PNA)