Osmeña asks for support as Cebu City to host lunch for Miss Universe candidates

From left: Jpark general manager Sean Noh, Jpark CEO Jason Uy, Jpark chairman of the board Justin Uy, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Jpark corporate liaison officer Arthur Lo. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

MISS Universe 2016 candidates will be in for some Cebuano gastronomic delight when they visit the province next year as part of their pre-pageant activities.

Cebu City will be hosting the event dubbed as “Cebu Festive Lunch,” which will be held at the Jpark Island Resort and Waterpark Cebu on January 17, 2017.

With this, Mayor Tomas Osmeña is asking support from the private sector to make the event successful especially since he doesn’t intend the city to spend a single centavo for it.

“The Cebuanos will desire to showcase our solidarity as a people. Since this is a hundred percent funded by the private sector, may I request our business leaders and associates to show their support as co-sponsors,” said Osmeña in a press conference yesterday at the Jpark.

During the event, the Ms. Universe 2016 candidates as well as other guests will get to taste some of Cebu’s iconic dishes and delicacies like lechon, danggit, dried mangoes, chicharon, otap and chorizo.

According to Jpark corporate liaison officer Arthur Lo, the event on January 17 will have five different ticketed activities which the public can attend aside from the actual swimwear presentation that day.

Other activities include a general assembly, a gala dinner with fashion show and an after party.

“We want to highlight all of these (food and delicacies). It’s the only event that we could really showcase everything that we have in Cebu to eat and enjoy. Cebu City will be involved directly in this program,” Lo said during yesterday’s press conference.

Lo said they are open to all interested restaurants and business establishments in the province to attend, sponsor and showcase their products and cuisine during the event. He said though that due to limited slots, they might have to prioritize those who signify interest first or those that best represent Cebu.

Details of all the ticketed events will be finalized and released by Jpark next week including ticket rates, rooms and packages.

Justin Uy, chairman and president of Jpark, said this event can also help promote Filipino cuisine all over the world. He noted that in other countries, it’s easy to find Chinese, Thai, or even Vietnamese restaurants but only very few Filipino restaurants.

“And this is the best time to let the girls try Filipino food and spread the news of what’s good in Cebuano and Filipino food so we can also encourage entrepreneurs to put up Filipino restaurants,” he said.

Osmeña welcomed the activity saying that local government units like Cebu City don’t really have the budget or mechanisms to promote itself especially internationally.

Cebu City’s hosting of a luncheon for Ms. Universe might seem ironic considering that Osmeña earlier announced that the city government will stop organizing the annual Miss Cebu pageant also on January due to budgetary constraints.