14 Years of F&B Excellence, MAFBEX Cebu Celebrates Industry Talents and Innovations

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Cebu City, Philippines - Eats Here! Western Visayas’ premier food and beverage trade show, MAFBEX Cebu (formerly CEFBEX) is now on its 14th edition! Happening on September 11 to 14, 2025 from 10AM to 7PM at the IEC Convention Center (IC3) Cebu, this year goes beyond the exhibit halls by celebrating culinary creativity, product innovation, and business growth opportunities.

Year after year, MAFBEX Cebu stays true to its goal of elevating the region’s F&B industry as a platform that serves entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, and aspiring talents through its different highlights and activities.

Modeled from the flagship MAFBEX in Manila, MAFBEX Cebu Culinary Cup: Home Chef Edition is designed to recognize the passion and skills of aspiring home cooks without formal education or culinary training. Participants are set to show both wit and grit in making an appetizer, main course, and dessert out of a secret ingredient to be revealed during the final round. Participants will compete for exciting prizes, including cash, culinary training, and gift packs, all while gaining the prestige of being named a MAFBEX Cebu Home Chef champion.

The excitement continues with MAFBEX Interschool Competitions featuring culinary challenges where Cebu’s brightest young talents showcase their potential in categories that emphasize technical skills, creativity, and innovation. This includes Cake Decorating Competition, Flair Cup, Market Basket Challenge, Fruit & Vegetable Carving Competition, and Pasta Live Cooking Competition. Not only the talent but Cebu’s culinary heritage is also in the spotlight in these artistic showdowns participated by the Benedicto College, Cebu Roosevelt Memorial Colleges, Cebu Institute of Technology University, Cebu Technological University, University of Cebu - Main, University of the Visayas, and University of San Jose - Recoletos.

Beyond competitions, MAFBEX Cebu 2025 brings together top suppliers, distributors, and F&B industry players as a premier business to business platform. Attendees can explore a wide range of food products, kitchen equipment, franchise opportunities, packaging solutions, and hospitality innovations making the expo a perfect avenue for fostering partnerships and exploring market trends.

MAFBEX Cebu will also showcase organic produce and products that mirror the proud local resources and talents of the whole region. In collaboration with the government agencies i.e. Department of Agriculture (DA) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Central Visayas, along with exhibitors from partner associations such as the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cebu Farmers Market, Hotel, Resort, and Restaurant of Cebu Association Inc (HRRCAI), and the Association of Local Food Producers and Artisans in the Philippines (ALAFOP), it highlights locally sourced, sustainable, and farm-to-market goods promoting healthier consumer choices while supporting local producers and advancing sustainable food systems.

With its dynamic mix of trade exhibits, local growth initiatives, and culinary excellence showcase, MAFBEX Cebu 2025 positions itself as the Visayas’ most influential F&B trade platform where culinary culture meets business growth.

Admission is FREE! Visitors and trade buyers can register in advance at www.mafbex.com or scan the event QR code posted on all official channels.

Be part of Central Visayas’ premier F&B event! For inquiries, contact our Project Head for MAFBEX Cebu, Ms. Roselle Fernandez thru email at wsi7@worldbexevents.com or 8-656-9239 loc. 130.

About the organizer:

MAFBEX Cebu 2025 is organized by the leading events and expositions management company in the country —Worldbex Services International.

Igniting a Circular Revolution: Taiwan to Host Asia-Pacific's First Circular Economy Hotspot

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

An event poised to ignite a new era of cross-border collaboration and innovation in the Asia-Pacific circular economy is on the horizon. For the first time, the internationally renowned Circular Economy Hotspot (CE Hotspot) will be hosted in the Asia-Pacific region, with Taiwan taking the lead as the inaugural host. The Asia-Pacific Circular Economy Roundtable & Hotspot 2025 (APCER & Hotspot 2025) is set to unfold in Taipei from October 20–23, 2025.

A Stage for Global and Regional Collaboration

Co-hosted by Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, and the Circular Taiwan Network, the event will center on the theme, “Leading Circular Collaboration,” and the global initiative, “Circular Collaboration for Climate Crisis (CC4CC)”. The event’s core mission is to transform "Good Ideas" into "Good Business" through "Good Governance". This will be accomplished through the Circular Trilogy framework, strategically positioning Taiwan as a pivotal hub for circular economy innovation and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Immersive Tours and International Dialogue

On October 21, participants can delve into Taiwan’s circular economy with six themed industry tours. These tours offer an inside look at diverse sectors, including:

Agriculture & Food (Asia Plant Organic Farm) 

Textiles (Hop Lion Feather Works Corp.) 

High-Tech & Electronics (TSMC Taichung Zero-Waste Manufacturing Center) 

Architecture & Construction (Taipei 101, Sustainable Materials Library) 

Plastics & Packaging (Spring Pool Glass) 

Community-Driven Circular Business Models 

These immersive experiences will highlight Taiwan's innovative circular practices, from zero-waste farming and textile recycling to green building and glass upcycling. They will showcase how circular design and partnerships are turning ideas into tangible action.

The following day, October 22, will feature a plenary forum, "Circular Trilogy," and international panels where global experts will discuss how governments are shaping national circular economy strategies. The day will also include a special focus on Taiwan’s draft Circular Economy Roadmap. Showcases will demonstrate circular innovations across six industries, highlighting how Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific are responding to global developments like the Global Plastics Treaty. The evening will culminate in a Business Matchmaking Session, fostering connections between Taiwanese companies and international circular economy partners.

Shaping the Future of the Circular Economy

The final day, October 23, will focus on "system-level enablers" with five parallel sessions. These sessions will cover critical topics such as:

Policy & Governance 

Financial Enablers 

Business Transformation 

Trade & Traceability 

Consumer Engagement 

As home to one of the world's most concentrated and diverse circular economy ecosystems, Taiwan is ready to showcase its proven model through immersive experiences that go beyond mere success stories. This event will offer participants a deep dive into the design, processes, and collaborative models that drive every decision.

A Call for Future Hosts

Beyond the 2025 event, the spotlight is already turning to the future. Applications are now open for the next host of the Asia-Pacific CE Hotspot in 2026/2027. The preliminary application deadline is September 15, and the winning country or city will be announced during the forum in Taipei. This rotation of the event is designed to foster a deeper understanding of each region’s unique challenges and opportunities, accelerating knowledge exchange and creating new avenues for circular collaboration.

For more details on the program, you can visit the official website: www.apcer.asia/apcer-hotspot-2025. 

For information on becoming the next host, visit: 

https://www.apcer.asia/apcer-hotspot-2025/host-Asia-Pacific-CE-hotspot-2026-2027.

Redemption or Rhetoric? PBBM’s Narrative "Mahiya Naman Kayo" on Flood Control

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Act One: Reframing the Stage

In the Philippines, where every rainfall and flash flood becomes a political mirror, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has launched what may be his most audacious narrative shift yet. He has reframed the national story: the threat is no longer abstract; it is corruption that allows floods to ravage lives and communities. This “enemy” offers a face, a clear target on which every aggrieved Filipino can unite.

On July 28, 2025, during his fourth State of the Nation Address, Marcos delivered a thunderbolt: he condemned flood-control graft—ghost projects and half-built dikes—as moral crimes. His words, laden with lamentation and moral outrage—“Mahiya kayo sa inyong kapwa Pilipino!”—ignited applause and indignation across the chamber 

Act Two: The Guide Emerges

The narrative doesn’t pause at the outcry: Marcos positions himself not as a performer but as a guide. He commands action—a cleansing of the system, naming the guilty, and bringing them to justice. He tasks the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with compiling a nationwide registry of suspect flood-control ventures: failures, purported ghost initiatives, substandard builds. The stage is set, transparency enforced, and suspects are warned 

Then came the digital bridge between the head of state and the masses: sumbongsapangulo.ph, unveiled on August 11, 2025—a platform where ordinary Filipinos could report anomalies. Marcos pledged personally to read each account—bringing the presidency face-to-face with the Filipino who's frustrated, displaced, or grieving 

In just three days, the platform logged more than 1,100 reports and over 800 feedback entries from nearly 85,000 visits 

Within the administration, talk has turned to “blacklisting” contractors behind ineffective flood control—all under the watchful eyes of civilians.

Act Three: The Probe Intensifies

The narrative spotlight now illuminates the Senate. On August 19, 2025, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee initiated a probe—aptly dubbed “Philippines Under Water.” Allegations of ghost projects, favoritism, and multimillion-peso schemes have surfaced.

Senator Rodante Marcoleta described the crisis in stark terms: pervasive, cancerous corruption destroying communities, yet hidden behind facades of progress 

Senator Erwin Tulfo diagnosed it as a "grand robbery," alleging kickbacks draining project budgets until only a fraction remains for actual construction 

Together, they vow to name names and hold people accountable.

Act Four: A Redemption Arc Awaits

Just like Duterte’s infamous—and terrifying—War on Drugs, Marcos is staging a narrative that could define his legacy. Duterte filled the streets with spectacle—the visible crackdown, the bodies, the ever-present fear. Here, the stage is less bloody but far more symbolic: transparency, citizen empowerment, institutional reckoning.

Yet there’s a catch—only if tangible results follow. If no one is prosecuted, jailed, or held accountable, and floods persist unrelenting, this dramatic narrative risks collapsing into farce.

Will we see contractors indicted? Will infrastructure improve? Will flood-prone areas actually dry out, or at least become less devastated by the next monsoon or typhoon? The truth of this “redemption arc” hinges on whether it plays out in courtrooms, not just press releases.

Act Five: The Road to 2028

On that path toward the 2028 presidential race, "Bagong Pilipinas" and continuity of the anti-corruption crusade could become the fulcrum of Marcos’s political legacy—especially if he anoints a successor to carry the torch. But like all wars of narratives, the story must deliver results to endure.

If citizens see concrete convictions, repaired dikes, and fewer floods, this could become his equivalent of a decisive victory. But absent that, his final act may end up as a tragic, empty encore.

The Stakes

Narrative power: Marcos has shifted from infrastructure builder to people's crusader.

Public trust: Citizens have been given a voice—and expect follow-through.

Institutional integrity: The rule of law now stands center stage.

Legacy and future ambitions: Redemption today fuels political capital tomorrow.

In this story war, the script is clear—but the ending remains unwritten. PBBM’s crusade against flood-control corruption could be remembered as his boldest redemption—or his most hollow stunt.

What do you think—will this story reach its anticipated climax, or fizzle into a forgotten subplot?