INNOVATIVE

Dimaguila, aimed to show as the city once again celebrated its “Puto Latik Festival” from May 15 to 23.

The nine-day series of festivities honors two important cultural assets of the city: its famed “puto Biñan,” the city’s famed delicacy, and the “maglalatik” dance celebrating the coconut industry.

One of the two major festivals in Biñan City (the other one being the “Araw ng Biñan”), the Puto Latik Festival has gained the attention of national government officials, earning the city three Pearl Awards from the Department of Tourism (DOT) in 2018, 2019 and 2022.

Perfect opportunity

For the city government, the Puto Latik Festival is the perfect opportunity for the city’s residents not only to showcase their talents but also the Biñanenses’ ability to move forward as one of Laguna’s most progressive cities both through innovation and preservation of the city’s rich history and culture.

The Puto Latik Festival also focused on extending the city’s services for Biñanenses through the "Alis Bukol Mission" of the Ospital ng Biñan on May 19; the Tatak GEL Caravan of Vice Mayor Gel Alonte on May 20; the Serbisyong Arman Caravan of Mayor Dimaguila on May 21, and the Alagang Len Caravan of Representative Len Alonte on May 23.

Rejuvenating culture

This year’s Puto Latik Festival is especially memorable to the city government as it represents the culmination of the city’s push to reinvent itself as a tourism magnet in Laguna province.

Almost all of the activities for the festival were staged at the newly-renovated Plaza Rizal at the city’s downtown area.

These included the Puto Latik Street Dance Parade and Competition last May 15; the Miss Biñan Gay Queen 2023 last May 17 and the Mister and Miss Biñan 2023 on May 20; the "Bakbakan sa Biñan" May 21, and the Biñan Modern Dance Showdown and Biñan Grand Santacruzan that capped the festivities on May 23.

The renovation of the Plaza Rizal has been an integral part of Mayor Arman Dimaguila’s extensive program for economic development through culture-based tourism, a program that the city government says is now paying its dividends in the increasing number of local and foreign tourists in the city.

“Sinong mag-aakala na ang lungsod ng Biñan ay pwede palang maging numero uno sa turismo?” was how Mayor Dimaguila put it in his speech during the opening ceremonies for the Puto Latik Festival last May 15.

“Ngayon, tingnan po ninyo, marami na pong nag-share sa Tiktok, maraming vlogger na po ang nagfe-feature sa Plaza Rizal. Dito po ay makikita natin na tayo po ay nasa proseso na ng transformation ng ating lungsod, kaya’t ine-encourage po natin ang mga Biñanense na makiisa sa proseso na ito.”

Puto Biñan 2.0

Biñan City’s willingness to innovate and “re-invent” itself was demonstrated during what local officials consider as the highlight of the Puto Latik Festival: the “Puto Biñan 2.0 With a Twist Cook Off Challenge,” held last May 22.

During the event, locals were able to express their culinary creativity and ability to go beyond the convention with exotic toppings on the city’s best-known product.

“Alam naman po natin na ang kultura ay nagbabago, pero anon ga po ba ang magiging lasa o itsura ng puto Biñan in the near future?” was the rhetorical question posed by BJ Borja, head of the Biñan City Culture, History, Arts and Tourism Office (BCHATO). “So ayun po ang tina-try nating gawin sa event na ito, para makita natin ang magiging innovation na gagawin ng ating mga kababayan sa Puto Biñan.”

Residents of Barangay Sto. Domingo bagged the championship with their entry “Maka-Puto,” which incorporated kalabasa (squash) as their main ingredient.

Meanwhile, Barangay San Jose became the first runner-up for their "Puto Bravo-cado," while Barangay Malamig won second-runner-up for their "Puto de Maja."

Biñan City's resident celebrity chef RV Manabat, who served as one of the judges for the cook-off challenge, was all praise to the contestants for their creativity and ingenuity.

“In the future, sa next generation, ano yung kanilang panlasa? Ano yung kanilang expectations? So dito nakikita natin ang iba’t ibang flavors na i-eexpect natin,” Manabat said during the event.

Borja added that since the “Puto Biñan 2.0” cook-off challenge became part of the festivities for the Puto Latik Festival, puto Biñan makers in the city have also started to introduce “exotic” flavors of the delicacy.

“For example, ang Nila’s Puto, nag-introduce na rin ng ibang flavor ng puto Biñan gaya ng ube, chocolate at pandan,” he said.

Business Week

It was at this same spirit of innovation that the city government now aims to encourage businesses and taxpayers to become even more active contributors to the city’s continuing socio-economic progress, Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) head Atty. Edward Vange Arriba told OpinYon Laguna.

Following the "City of Life Awards" held last May 19, in which the city government honored its top taxpayers, Atty. Arriba noted that it was these taxpayers that had enabled the city government to spend more on programs that uplift the lives of every Biñanense.

“During the event, Mayor Dimaguila reiterated na yung mga binabayad ng ating taxpayers ay nagsusustain sa more than 400,000 na residente ng Biñan, more than 3,000 scholars ng ‘Iskolar ng Biñan’, more than 3,000 students ng Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) – Biñan campus, at mga hindi na mabilang na naging benepisyaryo ng mga serbisyo ng city government,” the BPLO head said.

And to encourage the spirit of innovation among the city’s budding entrepreneurs – especially among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) – Arriba added that the Biñan City LGU is now embarking on a series of projects to entice more Biñanenses to contribute to the city’s economy.

“In fact, we are already preparing for our first-ever Biñan Business Week, kung saan magkakaroon ng isang dedicated day sa MSMEs, as well as a franchise expo and a financial literacy program,” he said. “May niluluto na rin po kaming programa kung saan ang ating mga negosyante dito sa binan di na mahihirapan dito sa binan kung saan pwede po silang mangutang without collateral.”

Message of gratitude

In a message to OpinYon Laguna, Borja expressed his gratitude not only to the city’s “Big Three” leaders – Mayor Arman Dimaguila, Vice Mayor Gel Alonte, and Representative Len Alonte – but also to the Biñanenses and tourists who attended and participated at the Puto Latik Festival.

“Nagpapasalamat po ako sa inyong suporta sa lahat ng gawain ng pamahalaang lungsod ng Biñan. Ang lahat po ng ginagawa ng pamahalaang lungsod ay para sa inyo, para patuloy nating mahalin at yakapin ang Biñan, upang maipagsigawan natin na tayo ay proud Biñanenses,” he said.

To Borja, the success of this year’s Puto Latik Festival is also a challenge to his office to continue exerting its best efforts to make Mayor Dimaguila’s visions for the city a reality.

“Sa mga taga-BCHATO, sana ay patuloy na paglingkuran ninyo ang bayan nang buong husay. Maraming salamat sa inyong dedikasyon sa trabaho, kahit labas na sa oras ng ‘office hours,’ salamat sa inyong commitment,” he added.

Biñan City Vice Mayor Gel Alonte also expressed his thanks to the local government, the participants, and all the Biñanenses for making the festival a success.

“Sa lahat ng talentadong Biñanense na nakilahok sa mga patimpalak upang maipakita ang kanilang husay at galing sa iba't ibang larangan. Sa lahat ng barangay sa Lungsod ng Biñan sa pangunguna ng kani-kanilang mga Kapitan, barangay kagawad, Sangguniang Kabataan chairman at mga kagawad na buong pusong suportado ang kanilang mga pambato na nagmula sa kanilang barangay. Dahil sa inyo naging mas makulay at masaya ang ating selebrasyon,” he said in a message to OpinYon Laguna.