P-Noy: Jollibee mark of a Filipino

BAGUIO CITY , Philippines  – President Aquino in formally opening fast food giant Jollibee’s 700th store in the country here Friday noon cited the successes of the homegrown fast food chain, even going beyond praise saying, “Jollibee exemplifies the mark of a Filipino.”

Like the Filipino who loves freedom, resilient and forward looking, Jollibee certainly has a long way to go in bannering what the Filipino can do.

Jollibee showed to the whole world it can be at par with foreign-based chains, even surpassing it, Aquino said in Filipino.

Here and abroad, Jollibee continues to expand, said Albert Cuadrante, vice president for marketing, citing 25 stores all over the United States, Middle East, and 20 more in Vietnam and Thailand, while seeing more expansion in the countryside in the coming months as “we see lots of encouraging opportunities,” Cuadrante said. 

“As we maintain all-time favorites as “sacred” to us, even outside the country,” Cuadrante said, they introduce variations to capture the Filipino taste and the culinary expressions in other countries where they are.

“We are very honored to be joined by President Aquino here in Baguio for this historic occasion, as we share the same goal of working towards a better quality of life for every Filipino. From our end, Jollibee is committed to continue offering only high-quality and great-tasting products and excellent service to all our loyal customers. Thanks to their support, we have kept on growing and even conquering new markets outside the Philippines,” said Tony Tan Caktiong, Jollibee’s chairman and chief executive officer, who joined the President in formally opening the store along Harrison Road here.

Aquino also led the slicing of the giant burger and the unveiling of a special commemorative marker created by local Igorot artist Jordan Mang-osan.