By Gladys Pino
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‘PAHIMIS’ FESTIVAL 2019 OPENING – The anticipated annual ‘Pahimis’ Festival of this ‘Coffee Capital of the Philippines’ town in Cavite rolls out its three-day festivities as regional, provincial and local officials, together with Amadeo’s outstanding farmers gesture the traditional ceremonial toast during the opening rites at the Amadeo Municipal Covered Court on Friday (Feb. 22, 2019). (Photo by Gladys S. Pino)
AMADEO, Cavite — The Department of Tourism (DOT) 4-A (Calabarzon) on Friday urged the local government of Amadeo to declare a “fixed” date to celebrate its “Pahimis” coffee festival so the department could fully promote the event.
“For DOT to fully promote and include the celebration in our calendar of activities, we need a fixed date — is it February or March?” Marites T. Castro, DOT 4-A director officer-in-charge, asked in her speech opening the three-day festival at the Amadeo municipal covered court.
Castro was referring to the varied dates of celebrating the festival in the past, which were based on the incumbent local officials’ prerogative.
She said a fixed date would also avoid confusion among the traveling and coffee-loving public.
Local tourism officer Jam Medina Tibayan said the celebration of the festival has been moved back to February in time for the harvest season of coffee beans.
The festival aims to promote Cavite coffee for domestic and worldwide consumption, revive the farmers’ interest in coffee farming, enhance coffee yields, and attain a competitive coffee price in the market, she added.
Castro commended the “Coffee Capital of the Philippines” for its local produce.
She also committed DOT’s support for the promotion, training, and marketing needs to further boost the town’s coffee yields and the farmers’ welfare.
“The DOT, with the Department of Agriculture, can do a lot of support under the Farm Tourism Development Law (Republic Act No. 10816) that promotes the development of farm tourism as a profitable business proposition to farmers and farm owners by converting their farms into a tourist farm destination,” she said.
Castro said the departments of science and technology and trade are also collaborating with the DOT to help market and identify the packaging needs of the coffee industry.
“Pahimis” or Amadeo’s word for “pasasalamat” (thanksgiving) traces its origin when coffee farmers gave away their last batch of harvest as a sign of thanksgiving, believing that it would bring luck and abundance in the next harvest season.
The festival’s opening salvo rolled out with the traditional ceremonial toast, led by Mayor Conrado Viado and Vice Mayor Leo Angelo Bayot, and featured the trade fair and coffee farm tour.
Friday’s event also served as a venue to award the town’s most outstanding coffee farmer and the top payers in business and real property taxes.
Succeeding activities will include a thanksgiving mass during Sunday’s Day 3 celebration.
Amadeo town boasts of 4,508 hectares of coffee farm land, the largest land area devoted to coffee farming in the entire upland Cavite, thus considered the biggest coffee producer in the province.
Senator Cynthia Villar, former Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, and former Presidential Political Adviser and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairperson Francis Tolentino were invited to the event. (PNA)
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