Lipa, Batangas — The third Barako Festival — which opened here recently — has showcased not only Batangas province’s renowned coffee but also the top products of each city and municipality, highlighting their impact on local jobs and the economy.

The festival, held along the Manila-Batangas Bypass Road, drew approximately 250,000 guests to each of its first two editions, with about 500 small businesses participating.

This year’s event features trade booths, food stalls, a playground with giant inflatables, and competitions in motocross, billiards and 3x3 basketball. A job fair runs through Saturday, and concerts are scheduled for two nights

Lipa Mayor Eric Africa and gubernatorial candidate Vilma Santos-Recto inaugurated Section 3 of the bypass road coinciding with the festival’s kickoff. The first 1.73 kilometers of the 5.39-km project of the Department of Public Works and Highways, stretching from Barangay Inosloban to Barangay Plaridel-San Lucas to Sto. Toribio Barangay Marawoy at the Star Tollway exit, opened in March 2022. The next 1.85 km became passable shortly after.

A groundbreaking ceremony was also held for “The Bean at Barako Triangle,” a planned park featuring a coffee bean-shaped structure intended to become a major tourist attraction.

Batangas and Cavite provinces account for about 90 percent of the country’s barako (Liberica) coffee production. Batangas is also known for lomi, a thick egg noodle soup; sinaing na tulingan (bullet tuna steamed in a clay pot); and sinigang na bulalo (beef shank soup).