When the First Philippine Republic was inaugurated on January 23, 1899, then President Emilio Aguinaldo hosted a banquet that was typical of the elite. According to nationalist historian Renato Constantino, the food served during the inaugural was European, and the menu – which included, among others, oysters, pink prawns, salmon with hollandaise sauce, stuffed crabs, mutton cutlets, stuffed turkey, sliced ham, and a dessert platter of cheese, fruits, jams, and strawberry jelly – was written in French.
Over the years, the presidential inaugural has been traditionally lavish, the food sumptuously rich and served using Malacañang’s best china and silver. Until Thursday’s spread for the country’s 16th President, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, that is.
The 71-year-old Duterte, who has earned the moniker “The Punisher” in Davao City where he was mayor for 22 years, wanted a frugal menu, perhaps in keeping with his image of a probinsyano with simple taste, a man of the masses who promised radical changes in his six-year term.
“The menu included monggo soup with tinapa and alugbati, pan de sal with kesong puti and Vigan longganisa, fried lumpiang ubod, durian tartlet and maruya (fried banana fritter). These are food that he grew up with in Mindanao,” said Communications Secretary Martin Andanar. The caterer, Via Mare, also served puto bumbong and bibingka.
“The President has always said that he wants a simple inaugural ceremony. He does not like lavish food. He wanted the menu to be simple, consistent with who he is as a person,” he added.
The humble maruya, in particular, holds a special meaning for Duterte.
“More than anything, maruya is a food of the masses. The preparation may vary from region to region, but it is a staple snack across the country. And for our President, it is a metaphor for the simple life of the Filipinos who voted for him,” Andanar said.
Maruya, which means deep-fried, can be made using saba (Cardava or plantain) or camote (sweet potato) with batter. There are other variations of the fried banana, depending on where you are in the country. The maruya served during the presidential inaugural is the pinaypay, which is deep-fried banana sliced in such a way that it resembles a hand fan. In the Bicol region, they also have the sinapot – bananas coated with rice flour batter cooked on top of cacao leaves, which give them a webbed pattern and an aromatic fragrance.
However, Filipinos – actually Asians, in general – have the Portuguese to thank for bringing the concept of banana fritters into our part of the world. In 1511, the Portuguese reached Malacca’s shores and introduced frying banana with flour. The delicacy has since spread across Asia: pisang goreng in Indonesia, which is usually served with condensed milk or jam; kuih kodok in Malaysia, named after the kodok or toad for its toad-like round shape; chuoi chien in Vietnam that comes with a dipping sauce made of coconut milk, salt, sugar and toasted sesame; and kluay kaek in Thailand, which is drizzled with caramelized sugar.
Maruya aside, perhaps the best person to attest to Duterte’s simple taste for food is his personal chef, Peter de Cauwer. A Belgian who speaks fluent Cebuano, Cauwer – a master chef and baker – will now be manning the Palace kitchen.
Aside from sautéed monggo beans, Cauwer said the President also loves daing or fried dried fish, dried squid, corned beef in garlic, and paksiw na isda or fish poached in vinegar.
The President, Cauwer said, has no dietary restrictions, but he is not fond of chocolates nor of having several dishes served in one meal.
Duterte also has no qualms about eating at a turo-turo or carinderia. In fact, the seven-term mayor of Davao City used to start his day with a hearty breakfast at the Thrunks Place carinderia near his house at the middle-class subdivision Doña Luisa Village.
The President could not have put it more succinctly: “I am a very simple man with one viand and rice only. It would be enough for me.” And of course, a maruya or two.