MANILA, Philippines — The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod has passed on first reading an ordinance declaring Chicken Inasal as a cultural property of Bacolod City.
The ordinance was penned by city councilor Em Legaspi Ang, who referred to the dish's recent ranking by food and travel website Taste Atlas where it was named the fifth best chicken dish in the world.
With a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars on Taste Atlas' website, Chicken Inasal gained a favorable review for its "uniquely peppery flavor."
The ranking saw Chicken Inasal bested by Peru's Pollo a la Brasa, India's Butter Chicken and Tikka, and the Persian Kebab or Jujeh Kabab.
Ang's ordinance, which will be called the Chicken Inasal Cultural Property Rights Ordinance, said that Bacolod City had a "Chicken Alley" as early as the 1970s where an entire street was filled with stalls serving the dish.
In line with the ordinance being passed on the first reading, the city's tourism office intends to officially register the dish to the National Commission for Culture and Arts' (NCCA) Philippine Registry of Cultural Property to be recognized as a “local important cultural property.”
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