Sibug - Sibug festival

Sibug – Sibug Festival is celebrated during their foundation day on the province of Sibugay on February 26, with colorful Ethnic Street dancing with rituals illustrating good harvest, wedding and healing rituals. During the festival, it endorses it’s number one product which is the oyster or talaba in tagalong which has been known to be the biggest, juiciest, and meatiest oysters in the country. In this two week celebration, in the town of Ipil, “Talaba Longest Grill” has been the main attraction of the visitors and viewers. In this manner, Zamboanga can promote their oysters to the world. Zamboanga Sibugay recently achieved a world record for the Worlds Longest Talaba Grill with five to 12 inches-long oysters or talaba as the main feature. Because of this, the province of Sibugay earned a title as the Talaba Capital of the Philippines.

Zamboanga Sibugay is a major supplier of oysters from the Zamboanga Peninsula to neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific region. It has three major talaba farms in the municipalities of Kabasalan, Siay and Alicia.

A project of Gov. George Hofer, the longest oyster grill aims to make the province known worldwide for its export-quality oysters. Some 15,000 huge pieces of oysters weighing 1,500 kilograms from Barangay Concepcion, Kabasalan were served in the 1.2 kilometer-long grill. More than a thousand participants composed of local government employees, Sibugaynons and visitors joined the event which was part of the two-week-long Sibug-Sibug Festival held in the capital town of Ipil. Zamboanga Sibugay is a major supplier of oysters from the Zamboanga Peninsula to neighboring countries in the Asia Pacific region. It has three major talaba farms in the municipalities of Kabasalan, Siay and Alicia. Hofer said the oyster is one of the major economic boosters of the province. Around 200 families in Barangay Concepcion alone are dependent on the oyster business. Also a much-awaited event was the Sibug-Sibug street dancing competition.

Visitors were also given a glance of the locals culture and traditions through a Western Subanen cultural show. The native Subanens presented their rituals in war, marriage and birth. Subanens are the aborigines of Zamboanga, believed to have developed in the province even before the Spanish period. Zamboanga Sibugay was declared a separate province through a Republic Act in 2001. Local officials claimed that the province holds the record of having the lowest crime-rate based on the Philippine National Police (PNP) report for the period 2002-2003. The rubber business is its second income-generating industry next to the export of oysters. It has been recognized for having the oldest rubber plantation in the country.