Copyright
My experience with the famous pig brain broth was in the Taboan Public Market. Officials of Barangay San Nicolas brought their famous dish to me and my colleague to try during one of those days when we featured their annual festival. At first, I was hesitant - the thought of eating pig brain made my stomach lurch. But its smell drew me to the dish, thus my first taste of it. They told me to dip it which is "tuslob" in Bisaya into the bubbles of the broth which is "buwa" also in the same dialect. I enjoyed this manner of eating without minding the sanitary issues. After all, we all die anyway.
Now that a certain food establishment has patented the term "tuslob buwa" I am a bit concerned on how to call this savory dish. The term has been coined in the streets of Cebu City. Out of decency and respect to our local cuisine, I believe we should not be too hard in calling it ours through patenting it. Well, if that were the case then businessmen should have raced to the Intellectual Property Office to also patent other dishes and delicacies as well - chicharon, buwad, larang, and the like. Who in their right mind would rob the people of a term used for a dish that speaks so much of us being a Cebuano? It seemed like their business consultants were wrong in reading between the lines of the whole process.
The residents of Pasil and San Nicolas are now crying foul over the IPO’s issuance of a patent for the term. They demand for it to be cancelled because for them, the term belongs to them. With this issue getting out of hand, it is bringing more damage to the establishment than money that it is supposed to bring in. While they have not yet aired their side on the issue, the act and intention of making "tuslob buwa" exclusive is a sign of greediness.
I pity the small-time vendors of this dish by the streets who may be subject to a court case, just because they used the term that has been patented. I don't know how the IPO will resolve this, but every Cebuano is in an uproar now at how even terms like this could be patented. Again, for the purpose of what? Money and business at the end of the day? There is no friendly competition to speak of, just exclusivity to make them a cut above the rest. Even if they are located away the original makers of the dish who are just along the streets.
Is it really their right to keep? Or should we place this issue into public discourse? I think even the city government of Cebu can intervene on this matter just to appease everyone who are fans of tuslob buwa. While I'm even writing this down, I'm scared too that a case will be lodged against me. What has this world become?
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