Tinagtag: From banquet to market

MALAPATAN, Sarangani (June 18, 2007) – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's priority program to promote entrepreneurship and create jobs - the One Town One Product (OTOP) Philippines – has brought a local delicacy from the banquet to the market.

Tinagtag, a Muslim delicacy for generations and best known among the Maguindanaons, has passed the criteria of marketability, productivity, institutional support, environmental and social impact, and industrial performance, officials said.

Tinagtag was officially launched as Malapatan's OTOP on Friday by the local government and private sector at the opening of 2nd Pakaradyan Festival.

Pakaradyan is a Maguindanao word for "feast" which may come as a wedding celebration, Tanda (baptismal rites), Salangguni (pamanhikan), Qadtamat (Koran reading), among others. For the non-Maguindanaon, Pakaradyan is equivalent to any Filipino fiesta celebration and banquets.

Tinagtag is made of finely ground rice mixed with sugar, then fried into crisp rice rolls.

"May oportunidad dito na magkaroon talaga ng improvement dahil ito ang na-identify ninyo at sinusuportahan ng local government," said Ibrahim Guiamadel, regional director of the Department of Trade and Industry 12.

"Para mabuhay, lumago at mabigyan ng kabuhayan ang mga tao dito ang s'yang layunin ng OTOP. Marami pang mga produkto ang ila-launch natin dito para tayo po ay magkaroon ng income at trabaho," Guiamadel added.

DTI provincial director Nenita Barroso said Sarangani Province was being promoted as an eco-tourism destination " at dahil sa produkto na ito, pinupuntahan na tayo ng iba't ibang mga advertisers."

In July 2006, the search for OTOP in Sarangani started where each municipality identified a product " para makilala ang kanilang lugar," according to Barroso.

Last May, a national television network featured tinagtag in its morning show which caters to local promotion initiatives and tourist destinations.

"Let us join hands in helping our industry that still need to be developed using our local resources," Mayor Alfonso Singcoy said.

Through OTOP, local chief executives of each city and municipality take the lead in identifying, developing and promoting a specific product or service, which has a competitive advantage.

OTOP Philippines supports micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to manufacture, offer and market distinctive products or services through the use of indigenous raw materials and local skills and talents. (SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE/RGP)