MANILA: The Manila city government on Monday launched a festival to promote local enterprises producing halal-certified goods.
The three-day event, co-organized with the department of tourism and the department of trade and industry, features about 100 vendors, most of whom specialize in food, snacks, sweets, and supplements.
In the predominantly Catholic Philippines, Muslims make up about 10 percent of the country’s 120 million people. Most live in the southern regions of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago, but the capital region, Metro Manila, is also home to a significant Muslim community of about 200,000.
“Halal food is a huge market, and through this program we’re reintroducing it especially to the younger generation. Some may already know about it, but this brings it back into focus,” Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso told Arab News, as he opened the festival.
“This is just the beginning of a bigger push to promote food tourism in Manila, and halal food is one of the key offerings. Our goal is for it to be certified and globally recognized.”
The Philippine government has over the past few years been making efforts to tap into the global halal market.
The small and medium enterprises participating in the Manila Halal Festival say they have seen increased interest in their products after obtaining halal certification.
Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso, center, launches Manila Halal Festival on March 23, 2026. (AN Photo)
“We got certified as halal last year. The product has only been around for three years, but we decided early on to go halal because we saw the market opportunities,” said Cris Valdez, who was promoting halal pastillas, a traditional Filipino milk-based sweet candy.
“We gained more customers, especially families buying products to bring to Qatar or Saudi Arabia. Having halal certification also really helps attract buyers.”
Lynmell Laranio from Miguelito’s Food Service, which makes the first halal-certified ice cream in the Philippines, said they are now seeing a good market in parts of the Middle East, particularly in the Gulf region.
“We became halal during the pandemic. We had a customer who wanted to bring Miguelito’s ice cream abroad — that’s how it started. Our ice cream is now being exported to the UAE and Qatar.”
Opportunities offered by the halal industry are also available at home, especially with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority promoting the sector, according to Trade Secretary Christina Roque.
“The halal industry has huge potential both globally and locally. In fact, we already have around 13 million Muslims here in the Philippines — that alone shows how big the opportunity is,” she told the Manila festival’s vendors and visitors.
“PEZA is now aggressively developing halal areas and halal economic zones because the opportunity here is massive ... more businesses are joining, and many are now seeing the opportunities it offers.”
