Why is adobo popular in the Philippines?

Mark Kemkemian

Medical Scientist at NSW Department of Health, Australia.

Adobo is not just a dish, it is a cooking method which uses a lot of souring agents to prevent meats from spoiling or decaying.

It is a very popular preservation method here in the Philippines because our climate is hot, and foods that are prepared on the table can become spoiled easily.

That's why our ancestors would marinate certain types of meat, like chicken, carabao, fish, beef and many others in a concoction of onions, garlics, peppers, salt and vinegar, so that the food can be stored for several weeks before its consumption date.

Then came the Chinese traders who introduced the use of soy sauce, which was later added to the Adobo dish that caused the darkening of the meat and sauce color.

Adobo is just one of the food preservation techniques here in the Philippines.

'Odette' claims 375 lives, 56 other people still missing– PNP

 

The devastation wrought by typhoon “Odette” to human lives has started to have a clear picture as more ground reports started to reach the Philippine National Police (PNP) when its communication lines were restored starting Sunday, Dec. 19.

Based on the latest data of the PNP from the reports filed by police units in areas affected by “Odette”, the death toll already reached 375 as of 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 20.

by Aaron Recuenco , Manila Bulletin

The devastation wrought by typhoon “Odette” to human lives has started to have a clear picture as more ground reports started to reach the Philippine National Police (PNP) when its communication lines were restored starting Sunday, Dec. 19.

Based on the latest data of the PNP from the reports filed by police units in areas affected by “Odette”, the death toll already reached 375 as of 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 20.

Photo: Keith Bacongco

Central Visayas has the most number of reported fatalities with 170, followed by the CARAGA region with 167. A total of 24 individuals were reported to have died in Western Visayas, seven in Northern Mindanao, six in Eastern Visayas and one from Zamboanga region.

On the other hand, a total of 56 individuals were reported missing, 47 of them are from Central Visayas, eight in CARAGA region and one in Eastern Visayas. A total of 500 people were also reported injured.

The PNP death toll is way higher than the fatality figure of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (NDRRMC) with 54 reported deaths only four of them were confirmed to be typhoon-related.

PNP spokesperson Col. Rhoderick Alba said the fatality figure is still for validation.

Field reports have started to flood the PNP headquarters at Camp Crame when the Information Technology experts from the police were able to restore the communication lines in areas affected by “Odette” on Sunday.

Based on the latest PNP data, the number of individuals still staying in various evacuation centers were 99,568 from some 30,000 families. Most of them lost their homes to the typhoon while some could not still go home due to flooding.

Most of the evacuees are from Central Visayas, CARAGA region and Western Visayas.