The best of the culinary heritage and creativity of Western Visayas is highlighted in the seven-day Gastronomy and Creative Expo 2026, an initiative of the Economic Development Committee (EDC) of the Regional Development Council (RDC).
The expo, which kicked off Monday afternoon at SM City Iloilo with the theme “One Western Visayas, a Creative Western Visayas,” builds on the successes of the 2024 One Visayas Expo and the 2025 Western Visayas Business Conference and Expo spearheaded by the previous EDC.
The expo is conducted during the busiest season of the year, the week of the Dinagyang Festival, to give micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the opportunity to sell their products to a bigger market, RDC co-chairperson Jobert Peñaflorida said in an interview Tuesday.
MSMEs and young farmers joined the expo free of charge.
“The expo demonstrates the unified and collective effort of the region’s local government units to grow as one,” he said.
He said the event is considered a “practice” because the target of the RDC is to bring the expo to the national stage within the year, inspired by the success of the Negros Trade Fair that has been going on for 35 years.
“We also want to do our own for Western Visayas,” Peñaflorida said.
The expo brought together various government agencies, including the Department of Economy, Planning and Development, Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Tourism; Iloilo City and provincial governments; and the private sector in mounting the displays of 36 MSMEs in the region. (PNA)
