The festival that packs plenty of caffeine

All is set for the Amadeo Pahimis Coffee Festival in Cavite from Feb. 14 to 16. Organizers, led by Gov. Ayong Maliksi and Amadeo Mayor OJ Ambagan, say this festival is Cavite’s version of the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City, Dinagyang in Iloilo City, MassKara in Bacolod City, Ati-Atihan in Antique and the Flower Festival of Baguio City.

As the initial step, Maliksi promptly got the approval of Mayor Joey Marquez for Parañaque City’s 109-member Sinulog 2003 contingent to perform at the opening rites of the Pahimis on Feb. 14. He says, "This in itself is already a big come-on for our festival."

Like the famous festivals in other parts of the country, street-dancing will usher in the Pahimis festival in the afternoon, followed by non-stop, all-night street partying.

"If the Sinulog focuses on the Sto. Niño, Pahimis will center on coffee which we abundantly grow in our upland towns," says Maliksi, who has vigorously pushed for the rehabilitation of the coffee industry in Cavite since he assumed office as governor in June 2001.

Thus, explains the Amadeo Tourism Council, the Pahimis’ street-dancers will wear costumes made from coffee-tree parts or coffee bean. Over three days, guests will be treated to coffee farm tours and free refillable coffee.

At the Green House, which will house the trade fair, there will be popular coffee specialty shop outlets like Starbucks, Figaro, Coffee Republic and Culinary Exchange, as well as the nation’s leading coffee roasters such as Nescafe, Great Taste and Café Puro.

Guaranteeing government support of the coffee industry, Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo will attend the festival, along with Senators Ping Lacson, Ramon Magsaysay Jr., Manny Villar, Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, Pagcor chair Ephraim Genuino, Philippine Tourism Authority Robert Dean Barbers and Makati Business Club president Guillermo B. Luz.

Governor Maliksi says the staging of the festival in the town of Amadeo, Cavite’s leading coffee-grower, is in keeping with the province’s new image as the present coffee capital of the country. "I read in the papers that the people of Batangas have already conceded the title to us. Though we’ve always associated Batangas with kapeng barako (brewed coffee), most of the supply comes from our province."

From being an exporter of some $15 million worth of coffee, the Philippines is now a net importer of the second most traded commodity next to oil. This year alone, the country is estimated to import about P1.4 billion worth of coffee beans from Vietnam and Indonesia.

Looking after the welfare of over 9,000 coffee farmers in his province, Governor Maliksi moved to revive and tap additional market for Cavite-grown coffee beans. As the initial step, Maliksi passed an executive order stipulating that only local coffee shall be served inside the provincial capitol in Trece Martirez City.

"Our coffee industry in Cavite was in the ICU, so to speak, when I began my term as governor in June 2001," says Maliksi. "We have become a nation of coffee-drinkers, as evidenced by the mushrooming and success of coffee specialty shops. Why then do our coffee growers still lose?"

To call national attention to Cavite’s leading effort to revive the coffee industry, Governor Maliksi pushed for the staging of the first Pahimis coffee festival in Amadeo, which was held over 11 days in April 2002, as well as the creation of the Cavite Coffee Development Board.

President Arroyo immediately responded by creating the Presidential Task Force on Coffee Rehabilitation, now called the Coffee Development Board of which Governor Maliksi sits as national adviser.

Also appointed to the board headed by Nikki Matti were Dr. Andy Mojica, research director of the Cavite State University, and Amadeo Councilor Rene R. Tongson.

An immediate result of this consolidated effort to boost the local coffee industry is the increase in the price of coffee from P22 per kilo to P42 per kilo.

Governor Maliksi foresees a sustained increase in the price of local coffee in the face of the ever-rising global demand for the commodity, with Cavite coffee growers showing the way for the industry.