Image: Screengrab from Instagram/@itspokwang27
One of the hottest commodities now is as hot in value as its sensation. 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.
Celebrities and normal citizens alike have since lamented the price hike of consumer goods, a circumstance that had musician and journalist Lourd de Veyra calling the present day the golden age of Philippine agriculture on Twitter last Sept. 11 because, “ang gulay presyong ginto.”
Actress and comedian Pokwang seems to agree, as she took to her Instagram on Sept. 13 to show off to her fans the most expensive jewelry she owns. No, it isn’t diamond earrings or a tiara made of rubies and emeralds, but something else entirely different in nature and physical component: a necklace made of the highly valued siling labuyo.
“Zia, Zia, akin na yung pinakamamahalin kong alahas, yung [mas] mahal pa sa diamond,” Pokwang said in the video as an assistant did her makeup.
“Dali na suot niyo na,” Pokwang ordered as another assistant comes forward with the red chili pepper necklace to put around her neck.
“Hello, anong sinabe ng diamonds? Ganda diba?” Pokwang said as she showed off her necklace.
“Ang bongga, ang sosyal!” Someone remarked in the background. “Magkano kaya isa niyan?”
Pokwang shot back, “Mahal yan!”
Expensive the pepper may be, but anyone can have their hands on the coveted necklace if they wish. As market prices may be too steep for some, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol recently urged consumers to fight the rising prices of siling labuyo by planting their own in flower pots
“When you buy red sili, make sure to get a few seeds, sun-dry these and plant them in flower pots. When you gurgle in the morning when you wake up, just throw the water in the pot,” Piñol advised last Sept. 7.
He added, “Before you know it, you would just wake up one morning to see your plants adorned with red fruits. Kailangan lang kaunting sipag para hindi reklamo nang reklamo.”
Upon harvesting of the peppers, string them along a nylon wire and voila! A do-it-yourself siling labuyo necklace that just may or may not rival all the gold and diamonds in the world. /ra
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