Siling

Aside from rice and fuel, the price of siling labuyo skyrocketed to an unprecedented P1,000 a kilo.

The siling labuyo's price has skyrocketed to as much as P1,000 per kilo recently, as the inflation rate in August rose to its highest in nine years at 6.4 percent.

Red siling labuyo (cayenne pepper) has a wide range of health benefits.

CHINESE sharp shooter Yi Siling wrote herself into the history books at London 2012 - while Malaysia's Nur Suryani Mohammed Taibi was thankful she didn't.

But the rain prevented most of them from proceeding to Barangay Siling Bata in Pandi, said Lea Maralit, Kadamay chair for Bulacan province.

For Jomar Balderama and Mary Jane Sorro, the newly crowned 'Sili King' and 'Sili Queen,' joining the Hot-aw sa Kaonan (chili eating contest) during the 'Magayon' Festival meant eating bowls of Bicol Express and Laing made spicier than usual by loads of siling labuyo (chili peppers).

If the produce do not continue to be planted or the cooking traditions kept alive, they will soon be gone, Chit Juan explained, specifically mentioning as an example cooking methods like pinikpikan and products like the siling labuyo.