00:00The roasted suckling pig is the centerpiece of the Filipinos' Christmas midnight feast table.
00:06Little wonder prices for the coveted culinary delights soar in the megacity's Lechon capital at this time of the year,
00:13even after a recent shutdown from the ASF scare.
00:17My colleague, Sharms Espina, has the details on this report gathered by our Harley Valbuena.
00:22Retailers of Lechon in La Loma, Quezon City, lost millions of pesos in the three-day temporary closure of their shops last month
00:32due to a spread of African swine fever or ASF.
00:36Among those affected is Corazon, whose Lechon store has been in La Loma since 1952.
00:42This Christmas season, she seeks to recover her revenue losses.
00:45The Lechoneros Association of La Loma, meanwhile, assured their Lechon products are now ASF-free and safe to eat.
01:03However, the expected surge of buyers of Lechon in La Loma has yet to be seen two days before Christmas,
01:20especially with a huge spike in prices ranging from 11,000 to 25,000 pesos depending on size.
01:27The Department of Agriculture, meanwhile, said that while the supply of pork is sufficient,
01:31a spike in demand during the holidays drives its prices upwards.
01:36It's just a big deal, but then the demand for Lechon during this time of the Yuletide season is really, really high.
01:45Hence, some Lechoneros resort to selling Lechon by the kilo to those who cannot afford an entire roasted one.
01:52We can't afford to buy a whole lot of food.
01:55That's the reason right now, it's a big deal of food.
01:57Some buyers, meanwhile, are not discouraged by the high prices of Lechon,
02:02as Lechon is an animal tradition and centerpiece dish on the Christmas midnight feast table,
02:07especially in reunions with family and friends.
02:10Oh, taon-taon.
02:12Tsaka pag dumatid din yung kapatid ko from abroad, bibili din kami.
02:16Syempre, dahil yung Lechon is, ano din, ha, para din sa season na to, so bibili pa din kahit man.
02:24Ang Pilipino, pag ganitong Christmas season, talagang bibili na lechon yan kasi pakaramdam nila,
02:30pag may lechon sila sa hapag, lalo pag salubong sa Pasko, ay napakasaganan na ang handa ng pamilya nila.
02:37A surge in orders of Lechon is expected in the next days,
02:40as many prefer buying Lechon for the new year rather than Christmas.
02:44This is Sharm Zespina from the National TV Network for a new and better Philippines.
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