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Coming soon: ILOILO'S FINEST

An online article caught my attention weeks ago. Though, it wasn't mainly about food, it will have an impact in the gastronomical scene of Iloilo City most especially in the pasalubong items. Here's a snippet from the said article:

Speaking at the SME Otop Fair last July 13, 2009, de Vera also witnessed the launching of Iloilo Brand that depicts the Arroyo Fountain fronting the provincial Capitol here with words "Iloilo's Finest" to be incorporated in packaging of local products and stickers showing the best of Iloilo products and services. >>> Read complete article

It reminded me of an other article which speaks of the same thing.

For the Philippines, Mr. Cristobal said, registering the products as GIs will help prevent their misuse and misrepresentation. Using the indicator for branding will help a product increase its market share in the country and abroad, Cristobal said.

He cited Saranggani province for having registered two marks: the “Saranggani Golden Mango” and “Sarap Saranggani.” Bulacan branded its famous sweets “Tatak Bulacan.” Tarlac has registered “Natural Tarlac,” positioning the province as a source of natural and organic products, while Pampanga has “Vida Pampanga” for its delicacies. >>> Read Complete article

It's laudable effort for Iloilo businesses through the help of the local government to finally make an important addition to their products; that is recognize and be proud of Iloilo. But come to think of it, even before this stint was made "public", a few businesses have already done this.
JD Bakeshop has this Proudly Made in Iloilo seal in almost all of their packages. The first time I saw them, I was really thankful for the bakeshop for being proud of its roots. Though I have some skepticism over some of their products, I am very proud of this small effort.
Another one is Rgies Delicacies which is synonymous to great tasting butterscotch. Though not really as conspicuous, it had this Iloilo's Pride written over it's "neat" packaging. They really chose a fitting tagline since they really are makers of great butterscotch, which is in my opinion really the pride of Iloilo.

Going back to the topic, my only concern and question is that, will this Iloilo's Finest tagline be obligatory to all products and brands or just limited to really the real FINEST brands and products. I hope it's the latter but then who will choose/decide if it is really fitting to be "tagged" as one? I mean, there could be products that are not really Iloilo's finest but backed by very influential people or politicians and on the other hand some really good products but coming from a small business. The list continues but and only time will tell if this thrust will really push through.

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