Saba Banana, a Cheap and Delicious Staple Food in the Philippines

Saba or Sab-a banana is an staple food in the Philippines that is widely available in the local market any time of the year. Unlike other banana varieties which are eaten raw as a snack or dessert, Saba is a cooking banana that can be eaten ripe or not. And it is the only variety of cooking banana that is native to the Philippines.

Cooked ripe Saba is a popular street food because of its affordability to the masses. It is sold by vendors in the street or near public schools and establishment canteens.

The fruit is rich in minerals and vitamins such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, Vitamin C, zinc, and B vitamins. It is also a good source of carbohydrate and dietary fiber which can keep the body’s digestive system healthy.  

In their homes, people usually go to the easiest way to cook the fruit which is to boil or fry it. The following are some ways to prepare Saba for business purposes or personal consumption:

Maruya- the banana is sliced fan shaped without separating the pieces and is then coated in a batter of flour and deep fried. When cooked, the surface is sprinkled with sugar.

Banana cue- the peeled bananas are cooked in a syrup of water and sugar. Cooked bananas in a group of two or three are then held together with bamboo stick skewers.

Grilled banana or ginanggang- the best Saba bananas for this purpose are the under-ripe ones. Unpeeled bananas are skewered to hold them together and grilled over a flaming charcoal. When done, the bananas are brushed with margarine and topped with sugar.

Turon- the bananas are sliced and rolled in sugar. They are then topped with jackfruit flesh and wrapped in lumpia or spring roll skin and deep fried and coated with caramel when done.

Binignit or tabirak- is a dessert made from mix of sweet potatoes, ube, Saba banana, jackfruit flesh, bits of glutinous rice, gulaman and other ingredients that are cooked in water and coconut milk and sweetened with brown sugar.

Saba banana is also used as vegetable in pork or beef stew which is called lau-ya.

Factory-made and exported Saba banana products:

Banana chips- under-ripe Saba bananas are sliced and then deep fried and dehydrated and covered with sugar to make banana chip which is a dollar earner for the Philippines. They are exported to countries such as the United States, Canada, EU, Australia, Japan, South Korea, China, and others.      

                       

Banana catsup- in the industrial aspect, Saba banana is an alternative main material for the more popular tomato in the manufacture of catsup. Maria Orosa, a Filipina food technologist in response to the scarcity of tomatoes in 1942, looked for ways to deal with the issue and invented the tomato catsup. Her product became an instant hit, and until now is availed by household consumers as well as the hospitality industry to cater to its food and drinks business.

 

Green Saba Banana, a Diabetic-Friendly Food

                              

Saba banana is one of the staple foods in tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia. It is a species of banana that is cooked rather than eaten raw like dessert bananas. Ripe Saba bananas are more delicious and have many culinary uses, and unripe or green Saba bananas also have their share of usefulness as food. Unripe Saba is cooked by boiling it whole with its peel on. It can also be roasted. Boiled green Saba is eaten to pair with kinilaw, a Filipino version of Mexican raw fish dish ceviche or to roasted fish. Most often it is eaten alone as snack or eaten together with salted fish or salted shrimp or alamang which are called bagoong in Filipino. A linupak or linusak in Cebuano is a banana snack on which a boiled green Saba is mashed in a mortar and pestle and mixed with grated coconut, brown sugar and butter or margarine. 

What is good about Saba is that it is one of the cheapest foods in the local market and is always available all year round.

Green Saba banana, a fruit that is good for diabetes.

Green or unripe Saba banana may be a fruit that is good for diabetics because of its low glycemic index that means its consumption results in slow rise of blood sugar in the body. It is rich in dietary fiber and contains a resistant starch that acts as prebiotic that feeds gut bacteria. Eating cooked green Saba may improve long term blood sugar management and gut health.

An unripe green banana has a glycemic index of 30 which is low while ripe banana has a medium glycemic index of 60. For this reason, green bananas should be cooked and eaten within three days after purchase or harvest to benefit from their low glycemic index because they easily ripen.

Like all foods, green Saba bananas should be consumed in moderation. Consult a health care provider or dietician if you would like to incorporate green Saba banana as one of your chosen foods for your long-term diabetic management.

Higalaay Festival Kaumahan Agro-Fair and Garden Show 2025

The Higalaay Festival has become a traditional annual event to celebrate the feast of St. Augustine, the patron saint of Cagayan de Oro City. It is a month-long festivity that starts in the first week of August and culminates on August 28, the feast of Saint Augustine. Some of the highlights of the event include city sponsored activities such as culinary show, street parade, bisperas fireworks show, religious procession, horse show, marathon and beauty pageant to select and crown the Miss Cagayan de Oro of the year. In addition, private enterprises like night market, carnivals and others provide more enjoyment to the celebration. August 28 is a non-working holiday in the city and residents, especially the Catholic faithful, celebrate the fiesta by preparing and serving sumptuous foods to share with family, relatives, friends and other guests. In some cases the merriment include drinking, singing, and dancing.

The fiesta sa Kaumahan Agro-Fair and Garden Show 2025 is one of the Highlights of the Higalaay Festival where agricultural plants and products are displayed in Gaston Park near the Saint Augustine Cathedral. These plants are there for people to see or buy. These plants come from farmers of the city and other nearby municipalities and provinces as far as Davao.

Here are pictures of the Kaumahan Agro-Fair and Garden Show 2025.

 

 

Mayor Maximo Suniel, Congressmen Pedro Baculio and Emmanuel Pelaez: the Distinguished Gentlemen behind the Cagayan de Oro City Charter

On June 15, 1950, President Elpidio Quirino signed R. A. 521, a law that converted the Municipality of Cagayan de Misamis into a chartered city. This year, 2025, marks the 75th or Diamond Anniversary of Cagayan de Oro as a city. That historic event in 1950 was just a few years after the country’s devastation caused by the Second World War. On the other hand, there was the joy of American and Filipino victories over the Japanese. There was also the glory of the independence granted by the United States to the Philippines on July 4, 1946, which was just a year after the end of the war. Those memories were still fresh in the Kagay-anons’ mind on that charter day.                                                                

The Japanese surrendered to the American and allied Forces on September 2, 1945, which formally ended the war. A year later, an election was held on April 1946 that resulted to the election of Manuel Roxas as president. Three months later, on July 4, 1946, the United States granted independence to the Philippines thus ending the country’s commonwealth status.                                                                    

In Cagayan de Misamis, in the aftermath of the war and the granting of the country’s independence, the municipality went through the process of rehabilitation and reconstruction of damaged infrastructures. Government institutions had to be re-established. Local government officials at that time saw the need to elevate Cagayan to a city Status. In this regard, the municipal council created a three-man committee led by treasurer Maximo Suniel to promote the conversion of Cagayan into a chartered city. Relative to that move, Pedro Baculio who was the congressman of Misamis Oriental sponsored bill 2829 for that purpose. In 1948, President Roxas died of a heart attack and Vice President Elpidio Quirino took over as president who then appointed Maximo Suniel as Mayor of Cagayan.   

                                                 

The term of the first congress expired in 1949 with the bill not yet enacted into law. Emmanuel Pelaez who succeeded Pedro Baculio as the representative in Misamis Oriental worked for the passage of bill in congress. The bill was signed into law by President Quirino on June 15, 1950. Cagayan de Misamis became a chartered city by virtue of R. A. 521. Immediately after the signing, the president sworn in Maximo Suniel as the mayor of the newly created city. The word “Misamis” was removed from the name and in its place was the Spanish word “Oro” which means gold. Oro was an appropriate word addition because Cagayan River is known for the presence of gold sediments and nuggets as well as the hospitable and friendly dispositions of the residents which are considered as golden traits. Thus, the official name of the newly charted city was Cagayan de Oro. The signing of the charter was 4 years after the Philippines independence and 5 years after the war.   

The distinguished gentlemen behind R. A. 521:       

                                                                   

Maximo Yparraguirre Suniel was born in Carascal, Surigao on November 18, 1898. At age 24, he became the municipal treasurer of Mambajao, Camiguin. He moved to Cagayan de Misamis as a municipal treasurer on January 24, 1924. When war broke out, he joined the resistant movement against the Japanese. After the war he was given back his job as a treasurer. On September 25, 1947, the municipal council created a three-man committee to work for the conversion of Cagayan into a city. In 1948 he was appointed as the mayor of Cagayan. Upon the signing of President Quirino of R. A. 521 of the city’s charter, the president immediately sworn in Maximo Suniel as the mayor of the new city. Thus, Maximo Suniel was the last mayor of Cagayan de Misamis, and the first mayor of Cagayan de Oro City.     

                                                                                                                                        

Pedro Salvador Baculio, a lawyer, was born on October 19, 1909. He was the acting governor of Misamis Oriental on August 1, 1945, which at that time included the island of Camiguin and Cagayan de Misamis. He represented the province in the first congress from 1946 to 1949. In Mar 1953 he was the appointed mayor of the new city of Cagayan de Oro. The loss of President Quirino that he supported in the election of 1953 cut short his stint as Mayor in December 1953. As a congressman, he was responsible for sponsoring a bill in 1948 to convert the municipality of Cagayan de Misamis into a City. 

 Emmanuel Neri Pelaez was born on November 30, 1915, in Medina, Misamis Oriental. He topped the 1938 bar exam with a rating of 91.3%. He succeeded Rep Baculio as the Misamis Oriental representative in congress on December 30, 1949. In that capacity he worked for the passage of the bill filed by Rep. Baculio. Pelaez’ effort helped in the signing of the bill to become R. A, 521 that converted Cagayan into a chartered city. In the 1953 election he ran for senator and won. In the 1959 election, he won as vice president in tandem with Diosdado Macapagal who was elected president. In the Macapagal administration, Pelaez was also appointed as Secretary of Foreign Affairs. His differences with Macapagal caused his resignation of the post, and he later transferred to the Nacionalista Party where he made himself available as its presidential nominee. During the party convention to select the party candidate for president, Senate President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. who topped the bar in 1939, bolted the Liberal Party to join the Nacionalista and challenged Pelaez in the presidential nomination. In the convention marred with allegations of coercion and vote buying Marcos defeated Pelaez as the party’s presidential candidate. In the election that followed Marcos defeated Macapagal to become the new president of the Philippines. After his vice presidency, Pelaez served as a congressman, as a senator and as a member of Batasan Pambansa in the Martial law period. During president Corazon Aquino’s term of office, he was appointed as the Ambassador to the United States in 1986.                                     

Pelaez was one of the most popular political personalities in the Philippines at the prime of his political career. He was an admired and beloved figure of the people of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental who fondly called him “Maning. He was the first person in Mindanao to top the bar exam. He was also the first politician from Mindanao to become vice president of the Philippines. His ambition to become the President of the Philippines was within a hair’s breadth had Ferdinand Marcos Sr. not seized from him that opportunity.

The Higaonons, The Early Inhabitants of Cagayan de Oro

 

The name Higaonon is derived from three Bukidnon words which are “higa” or living, “goan” or mountain and “onon” or people. And it goes to say that Higaonon means people living in the mountain or people living in the wilderness. Another version of the origin of the word is that “higa” means coastal plain, and “goan” a verb that means to ascend to the mountains. This suggests that Higaonons were once living in the coastal areas who later moved to the mountains.                                                                                                                                                                 

Before the Spaniards came to this place which is now called Cagayan de Oro, there was a Higaonon village called Himologan which was along the river called Cagaiang. Its leader was Datu Salangsang. During that time Islam was already the widespread religion especially in the western and south western parts of Mindanao. A Muslim leader named Sultan Kudarat from Cotabato was the paramount ruler in great parts of Mindanao, and his area of influence reached as far as the Himologan village. Despite the predominance of the Islamic faith, Datu Salangsang and his people remained polytheistic animists although they had to pay tribute to Sultan Kudarat for protection.

In 1622 recollect missionaries Fray Francisco de la Madre de Dios and Fray Juan de San Nicolas with the help of Magdalena Bacuya, who was the Christianized grandmother of Datu Salangsang, sailed from Butuan to Himologan. Reaching there, they wanted to Christianize the natives, but realizing that doing so might provoke a reprisal from the Sultan and might put the village at risk of a Moro attack, the priests withheld their action. They went back to Butuan to seek help, and Fray Agustin de San Pedro, later known as El Padre Capitan went to Himologan. After a brief stay there, he decided to move the village inhabitants to a promontory which is now the site of Saint Augustine Cathedral and Gaston Park. El Padre Capitan trained the natives on fighting skills and built a wall fortification which he called “Fuerza Real de San Jose” to repel Moro attacks.

Over the years, migration of people particularly from the Vizayas such as Cebu and Bohol have shaped the present demographic character of Cagayan de Misamis, now Cagayan de Oro which is a largely Christian and Cebuano speaking city. There are also considerable number of minorities such as Chinese, Maranao and people coming from other parts of the Philippines and Mindanao. Higaonons who mostly live in the hinterlands of the city call people living in the lowlands as “Dumagats”. The Higaonons have considerable population in barangays such as LumbIa, Besigan, Bayanga, Tumpagaon, FS Catanico, Tignapuluan, Pagalungan, Tablon, Dansolihon, Tagpangi, Cugman, Mambuaya. Taglimao, San Simon, Tuburan and Pigsag-an.

Higaonons speak dialect which is different from the mainstream Cebuano. Their dialect which is called “Binukid” is a variant of the Manobo dialect. It is not intelligible with Cebuano, Maranao or dialects of other ethnic groups living in the surrounding areas. Although most Higaonons are conversant with Cebuano, their dialect is not intelligible to Cebuanos or to Maranaos. With the passing of time, younger Higaonons have become more fluent with Cebuano than the dialect of their parents. And there is a danger that the succeeding generations might lost the dialect of their ancestors due to their adaptation of the language spoken by the mainstream population of Northern Mindanao.

Although the Higaonons have embraced the Christian faith, they retained some traces of their animistic beliefs and practices. Some still invoke the help of nature spirits in activities such as planting, hunting and other endeavors. Higaonons subsist mainly on farming as their means of livelihood. They also engaged in gold panning and fishing in the river, and on hunting games in the wild. Parts of their social, cultural, political and other activities revolve around the Datu who is a respected person in a community who acts as a leader, a counsellor, a dispute mediator or even as a medicine man.

The Higaonons are gentle and friendly people who are also fierce when provoked. They are an indigenous people in the city who remain proud and loyal to their traditions and cultures despite the political, social and demographic changes that have taken place with the passing of time.