(The Real Story)

Written by Olivia Sylvia Inciong

(Note: Many versions have been written about the history of the Cocofest in San Pablo City. Below is the true version as told by Rolando Alino Inciong, Co-founder of the Cocofest.)

In July 1995, San Pablo City’s well-known couturier and former City Councilor Vergel Cosico were elected President of the San Pablo City Fiesta Committee, under the auspices of the Catholic Diocese of San Pablo. To serve as a working team of the Committee, Vergel invited his friends from the civic and business sectors to help him develop ideas for the 1996 fiesta.

Five private individuals responded to the invitation – Pablito Merin, Charter President of the Rotary Club of Pablo South; Willy Tan of the San Pablo Lions Host Club and his spouse Raquel, Past President of the Emerald Lions Club; Rolando Inciong, Past President of the Apex Club of San Pablo, Charter President of the Rotary Club of San Pablo City Central and the City Government’s first City Information Office Department Head, and his spouse Sylvia, Past President of the Apex Ladies Club of San Pablo and editor-in-chief of NewsWorld weekly newspaper. The group squeezed their creative juices during meetings which lasted till the wee hours of the morning.

Vergel desired to make the celebration an innovative event. Rolly suggested that since the fiesta is a public event, the Catholic Church may consider inviting the civic, professional, and non-government organizations to participate through sponsorship of activities. The church leaders agreed to the idea.

In October 1995, Rolly and Sylvia, together with members of the Apex Club of San Pablo, visited Bacolod City upon the invitation of the City Tourism Officer, Atty. Evelio “Bing” Leonardia, one of the co-organizers of the Masskara Festival, a street dancing event where participants wear colorful masks and costumes. (Atty. Leonardia later became Vice Mayor, Congressman, and now, Mayor). The Masskara Festival was conceived to show that despite the sufferings from economic depression with the fall of the sugar industry, the Ilongos remain to be proud and happy people.

Witnessing the grandeur of the Masskara Festival, Rolly and Sylvia took videos and photos of the event and returned to San Pablo with an idea – San Pablo’s own street dancing festival. The group agreed to have a street dancing festival with costumes made from coconut materials. Rolly suggested the name San Pablo City Coconut Festival (Cocofest) and laid out the objectives: to promote the City’s coconut industry, through cultural and tourism events, and eventually attract the attention of investors to invest in the coconut industry. The team presented the idea to the Diocese leadership who readily approved the event as an official activity of the Catholic Church-led fiesta celebration.

The next challenge was the budget. Vergel, Lito, Rolly, Sylvia, Willy, and Raquel contributed P5,000 each. With P30,000 as an initial fund, Rolly, who served as City Information Officer from 1992 to 1995, and a political strategist of Mayor Vicente “Biteng” Amante and Congressman Florante “Boy” Aquino, approached the city’s top political leaders for support. Mayor Biteng and Congressman Boy readily donated P20,000 each.

Publicity and sponsorships were added challenges. With an endorsement from senior journalist and City Project Development Officer Ruben Taningco, the team met with Robert Non, advocacy officer of the San Miguel Group of Companies in Laguna, and Mac Dormiendo. San Miguel Corporation agreed to be a major sponsor. Other companies, later on, agreed to sponsor the event.

It took two months before Vergel’s team was able to convince schools to join the street dancing, as they were not familiar with the concept. Five schools accepted the challenge.

To get the City Government’s involvement, Vergel’s brainstorming team approached the Sangguniang Panglunsod (SP), headed by Vice Mayor Danton Bueser, and proposed a resolution creating a cultural committee to support the Cocofest. Sponsored by Councilor Irineo Biglete, the SP adopted the resolution.

With the institutionalization of the City Government’s support through the SP resolution, Mayor Amante instructed City Administrator Hizon Arago and Secretary to Mayor Adolfo “Rudy” Vergara to take the lead in providing logistical assistance. The local PNP was tapped to secure the. Mr. Taningco spearheaded the publicity efforts while Melinda “Kambal” Bondad of the City Planning and Development Office, headed the documentation team, which submitted reports to the Office of the President, Department of Tourism, and the National Historical Institute.

Vergel’s team was supported by Edison Ticzon, Prime Torres, Seseng Oblena, Elmer Inciong, Luz Aguilar, Meng Lajara, and a number of unsung heroes behind the scene.

The team hatched another idea – the revival of the Mutya ng San Pablo which was personally chaired by Vergel. The Mutya ng San Pablo song was composed by artist Jake Merin, son of Lito Merin. (Jake later became President of the Rotary Club of San Pablo South). The song was sung by Raquel Tan and became the theme song for the beauty tilt. Notably, a young lady named Sol Aragones won the Miss Talent Award during the second staging of the Mutya pageant in 1997. Sol is now the congresswoman of the 3rd District of Laguna.

On January 12, 1996, the first San Pablo City Cocofest was staged as a main attraction of the City Fiesta. According to senior journalist Ruben Taningco, the event was timely with the commemoration of the 400th Anniversary of the founding of the Parish of Saint Paul, the First Hermit, which was organized by the Augustinian Fathers in 1596.

The first Cocofest was covered by Asahi Shimbun of Japan. The footage of the events was contributed to Reuters and other foreign news wires through the facilities of ABS-CBN Channel 2, GMA Channel 7, and People’s Television 4 through the efforts of Ruben Taningco and Rudy Vergara. The event was also featured in a special issue of the Philippines Free Press. A special report for television was prepared by Film Documentarist Corie Quirino which was released in January 1996. City Administrator Hizon Arago and Assistant City Planning and Development Officer Rolando Bombio provided the basic information materials.

Vergel, Lito, Rolly, Sylvia, Willy, and Raquel continued to manage the Cocofest in 1997 and 1998. Unfortunately, Vergel passed away in April 1998. Lito became Governor of Rotary International District 3820. Willy and Raquel migrated to the US. Rolly joined the Australian Embassy in Manila, and Sylvia moved to work with the United Nations Information Center for the Philippines, also in Manila.

With the original Cocofest team moving on to other endeavors, Rolly, on behalf of the group, officially turned over to the City Government the management of the Cocofest beginning January 1999.

From then on, Mayor Amante assigned City Administrator Hizon Arago as event chair, and the entire City Government managed the Cocofest and introduced improvements and innovations.

Mayor Biteng, and later Mayor Loreto “Amben” Amante, continued the legacy of the Cocofest. Subsequent political leaders – Congressman Danton Bueser, Congresswoman Ivy Arago, and now, Congresswoman Sol Aragones, supported the Cocofest.

The City Government successfully worked to have the event recognized and accredited by the Department of Tourism and the National Historical Institute. Today, the Cocofest is a multi-awarded tourism event. The new generation of coordinators took over – Paul Michael Cuadra, Maria Donnalyn Brinas, Leo Abril, Jr., and the present crop of City Government Department Heads – introducing lots of innovations.

While many versions about the origins and beginnings of the Cocofest have been reported, it is but fair and fitting that the real history of the festival is told. The rest is history. (Sylvia O. Inciong, Co-Founder).

Disclosure: Our very own Valeriano Lugti, Board of Director member, is the Vice President of Pepsi-Co at that time and spearheaded the involvement and sponsorship of the company for the first CocoFest.

Photos by Ralph Daryl C Manalastas, January 13, 2019, Dra. Vency Manalo, Pediatrician – CocoFest 2009 & Angela A. Calabia 2017 CocoFest.