Taste, Discover, and Celebrate Filipino Flavors at Philippine Food Expo 2026

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

The Philippine Food Expo, the country’s most recognized “All-Filipino food and beverage food show” bringing together the best of the Philippine food industry for over a decade.

Started as a local sourcing event aiming to strengthen the Philippine agricultural and food industry, the food expo has significantly grown to capture a bigger market, including international buyers opening doors that offer more opportunities for a sustainable economic impact while staying true to its deep industry roots.

Earning its reputation as a trusted gateway for sales generation, emerging trend studies and networking opportunities, the Philippine Food Expo continues to create real business impact. In it's most recent edition, the Philippine Food Expo highlighted the Ilocos region cuisine and brought together over 300 Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) exporters and retailers, generating a Php 139K in total sales in just three days and an estimated 20,000 attendees composed of food enthusiasts, industry professionals and general public.

Now in its 18th year, the Philippine Food Expo (PFE), organized by the Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization, Inc. (PHILFOODEX) together with Cut Unlimited Inc as the official exhibition manager, will be held at the World Trade Center Metro Manila on April 17-19, 2026.

Carrying the theme “Feast of Philippine Flavors to the World,” PFE 2026 highlights the unique culinary heritage of the Philippines through an expanded dynamic lineup of business-driven seminars, series of live cooking demos, exhibitor showcases and product launches and the much-anticipated annual Culinary Challenges. This year’s competition will gather over 43 schools to give spotlight to the distinctive flavors of Davao Cuisine.

At the heart of the expo are its exhibitors, with a mix of hundreds of Filipino food and beverage retailers, MSMEs, exporters, and manufacturers presenting a diverse range of product offerings, reflecting the evolving landscape of Filipino flavors from all across the country. Adding an exciting milestone for the event, PFE 2026 will introduce its first-ever International Pavilions,welcoming participating exporters from Malaysia and India which will open new opportunities for exhibitors for cross-border collaboration and trade. To spice up this year’s festivities, Philippine Flair Tour will bring an exciting Flairtending Competition, where professionals from across the country will compete to bring home the cup.

Guests can also look forward to live cooking demonstrations featuring some of today’s culinary personalities, including Chef Abi “Lumpia Queen” Marquez, Chef Gerick Manalo, Chef Emily Peralta and Chef JM Sunglao.

This three-day event is open to the public from April 17 to April 19, 2026 (Friday-Sunday) from 10 AM to 7 PM. Plan your visit early and enjoy the pre-registration discount, available From March 4 to April 10, 2026.

Per DTI Trade Permit No. FTEB-250200 Series of 2026.

Be part of the growing history, join as an exhibitor or take advantage of exclusive perks by pre-registration online!

Follow and check their Facebook and Instagram (@philfoodexpo) for exhibitor opportunities, pre-registration details, and the latest event updates.

For inquiries, contact Exhibition Manager Cut Unlimited, Inc.: info@eventsbycut.com or call (02)8363-4900 / 8362-2266.

The Bitter Aftertaste of Truth: A Food Heritage Hero’s Fight Against State-Sponsored Erasure

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

On the sun-drenched afternoon of March 9, 2026, the air at the press conference for John Sherwin Felix didn't smell of the rich, ancestral spices he spent years documenting. Instead, it carried the heavy, metallic scent of a legal battle—one that pits a lone advocate against the bureaucratic machinery of the Philippine government.

Felix, the visionary founder of Lokalpedia, stood before the cameras not to showcase a rare heirloom grain or a disappearing fermentation technique, but to defend his right to speak the truth. At the heart of this storm is a libel case filed against him—a move his supporters call a "chilling" attempt to silence a man who dared to point out that the government’s own recipe book got the ingredients of Filipino identity wrong.

A Passion Project Under Fire

Felix isn't your average critic. Through Lokalpedia, he has trekked to the most remote corners of the archipelago, immersing himself in indigenous communities to platform food heritage that history books often forget. What began as a passion project became a vital archive of Philippine soul.

However, when the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) published ‘Kayumanggi: A Kaleidoscope of Filipino Flavors and Food Traditions’, Felix noticed something indigestible: glaring inaccuracies. He spoke up, arguing that a book funded by the public and intended to represent the nation’s culinary map must, at the very least, be accurate.

The response? Not a correction, but a lawsuit.

"The authors and publisher should be open to criticism," Felix stated firmly. "It is of public interest to correct inaccuracies in a book that supposedly showcases the heritage of our indigenous peoples."

Silencing the Scullery: A Threat to Expression

Atty. Arman Hernando, Felix’s legal counsel, didn't mince words, labeling the libel case "baseless." According to Hernando, this isn't just about a recipe book; it is a tactical strike against academic discourse and freedom of expression.

The Stake: If a researcher can be sued for correcting a taxpayer-funded book, who will dare to document the truth?

The Victim: Beyond Felix, the victims are the community members and researchers who labor to record the fading traditions of the Philippines.

Adding a layer of gravity to the proceedings, Laorence Castillo, co-founder of Gulay Na, noted that the errors in the book represent more than just typos—they represent a fundamental "lack of respect and sensitivity" toward the Filipino identity.

The Recipe for Resistance

Today, Felix and his team officially filed a counter-affidavit. Their hope is simple yet profound: dismissal.

But the implications of this case linger like a burnt roux. It raises a haunting question for the Filipino public: When the state packages our culture into a glossy book, who owns the narrative? And what happens when the people who actually live that culture say the book is wrong?

As the press conference concluded, Felix’s message was clear. He will not be intimidated into silence. The documentation of Filipino food heritage is not just about ingredients—it is a battle for the country's memory, and for John Sherwin Felix, that is a dish worth fighting for.

The Battle for the Sky: Inside the 12th Better Air Quality Conference in Bangkok

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

BANGKOK, THAILAND — The sun rose over Bangkok this morning behind a familiar, hazy veil, but inside the halls of the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC), a different kind of atmosphere is brewing. It is electric, urgent, and tinged with the weight of a global crisis.

Today marks the opening of the 12th Better Air Quality (BAQ) Conference 2026. This isn't just a meeting of minds; it is a high-stakes war room for the future of the breath we take. Over 1,100 policymakers, technical titans, and grassroots advocates from 56 nations have converged on the Thai capital with a singular, desperate mandate: to reclaim the sky.

A World Gasping for Air

The statistics framing this year’s summit are nothing short of haunting. According to the State of Global Air 2025 Report, air pollution is now a silent executioner, responsible for one in eight deaths across the planet.

In a world where the World Health Organization (WHO) has tightened the "safe" limit for fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) to a mere 5μg/m 3, a staggering 99% of the global population is currently breathing air that is technically considered toxic.

"We are proud to welcome delegates from around the world," said Bjarne Pedersen, Executive Director of Clean Air Asia. His words carry the gravity of the conference theme: ‘Together for Clear Skies: Driving Action, Accelerating Investment’. "This underscores the urgent need for collective investment... to unlock health, economic, and climate benefits for all."

Why Bangkok? Why Now?

The selection of Thailand as the host is no coincidence. As a regional hub for diplomacy, Bangkok sits at the heart of a complex web of environmental challenges—ranging from the dense transport emissions of its neon-lit streets to the seasonal agricultural burning and transboundary smoke that drifts across borders.

Thailand’s leadership in hosting BAQ 2026 signals a pivot from mere observation to aggressive regional cooperation. The conference, organized by Clean Air Asia in a powerhouse partnership with the ADB, CCAC, ESCAP, and UNEP, aims to turn the tide against industrial smog and waste-related toxins.

The Blueprint for Survival

The 12th BAQ is moving beyond the "what" and "why" of pollution to the "how" of its eradication. The agenda is built on three pillars of transformation:

The Money Move: Unlocking massive financing and investment to turn sustainable theories into scalable realities.

The Sectoral Siege: A multi-pronged attack on emissions from transport, energy, industry, and agriculture.

The Power of many: Building a "United Front" between governments, the private sector, and civil society.

Yoko Watanabe, Director of Environment at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), emphasized that the time for incremental change has passed. "ADB is committed to... mobilizing finance for air pollution solutions at scale," she noted. "BAQ 2026 provides a critical platform to align policy ambition with the investments needed."

The Road Ahead: Financing the Future

A centerpiece of the three-day event (March 11–13) will be the Financing Roundtables. These are not just discussions; they are matchmaking sessions designed to bridge the gap between clean-air technology and the capital required to deploy it across Asia’s rapidly growing megacities.

As delegates move between high-level plenaries and technical sessions, the goal is clear: leave Bangkok with more than just a communique. They seek a roadmap that ensures the next generation doesn't have to check an air quality app before stepping outside to play.

The 12th BAQ Conference is a reminder that while the air we breathe knows no borders, neither does the innovation required to clean it. For the next three days, the eyes of the world—and the hopes of millions of pairs of lungs—are on Bangkok.