Philippine dish lugaw, inspired by Chinese congee, stirs debate in locked-down Manila
The incident happened in the early hours of March 30 when delivery man Marvin Ignacio was stopped in the city of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan province, north of Metro Manila.
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When Ignacio showed her a copy of the latest government curfew guidelines allowing food delivery services 24/7, she taunted him to record her, which he promptly did on Facebook Live.
On Thursday, she outed herself as Phez Raymundo, posting a public plea on Facebook to "stop bashing me, give me a chance to change my mistakes". She thanked the village chief for firing her from her post, blaming the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases for their "confusing guidelines" and expressing hope that the government "would learn from this incident".
The Philippine National Police also waded into the controversy by issuing a statement that "any kind of food that is legitimately delivered upon orders by residents" is considered an essential good, but did not explain what "legitimately delivered" meant.
The state-led National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) took the opportunity to teach a bit of history and promote April as Filipino Food Month. "Lugaw is not just food but also a symbol of our culture," it said, adding that it is the ultimate comfort food made by mothers for their sick children, which is why it is described as being "cooked with love".
The NCCA explained that Chinese migrants brought their rice congee to the Philippines before Spanish colonists arrived in 1521, but the earliest mention of lugaw as "rice mixed with milk or water or of both" is recorded in the Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala compiled by Spanish priest Pedro de San Buenaventura in 1613.
Filipinos then tweaked the Chinese congee into something uniquely Filipino, it said.
On Wednesday, Densing said that "Si lugaw" (referring to Robredo) is really not essential, but "lugaw [as food] is" and added for emphasis, "Lugaw [meaning Robredo] is really non-essential in our opinion."
Densing, who became controversial after he proposed that Duterte should do away with the Philippine Constitution and instead head a revolutionary government, came under fire and was mocked on social media for his comments about Robredo.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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