A private university in Mandaluyong City poked fun at an online incident in which it shared a recipe that has become a long-running meme among Filipinos.
Jose Rizal University (JRU) on Monday, June 30, addressed a supposed post questioning its response to an online query about enrolling at the school.
“Jose Rizal University, what is this behavior???” the post reads.
A screenshot of a conversation was then shared, which showed the university account replying with the recipe for the Binangkal snack instead of answering the question about how to enroll.
“Kindly ignore the first message. Thank you!” the university said after realizing its mistake. It accompanied its message with a grimacing emoji.
“We have been informed of a message sent to a prospective student inquiring about enrollment, where a Binangkal recipe was unintentionally shared,” JRU later said.
“While we take all inquiries seriously, we acknowledge this flavorful detour. We sincerely apologize for the confusion and hope the recipe was, at the very least, helpful,” it added.
“To that one student who got a Binangkal recipe instead of enrollment steps, might we interest you in Hospitality Management? Rest assured, the concerned team has been advised to respond with enrollment steps, not snack suggestions,” JRU said.
It ended the post with the hashtags “#JustForFun” and “#Satire.”
The post amused Filipinos, with some commenting that it was a “PR move” of the university.
“Nice PR move, JRU,” a Facebook user wrote.
“The design is very marketing strategy,” another user commented.
“Parang scripted. Pero nice approach para sa mga incoming students, make them feel na masaya mag-aral sa hopia… next, egg pie recipe naman,” said a different Pinoy.
The binangkal recipe meme refers to Filipinos randomly commenting the native doughnut’s recipe in Facebook posts.
The origin of the meme, or how the recipe became meme content among Pinoys in the comments section, remains unclear, although it has since become a constant presence in the local online community.
The recipe is usually commented on by Filipinos who appear to have intentions to poke fun at a post or troll people.
Binangkal is a native doughnut from Visayas and Mindanao, which is also commonly found in neighborhood bakeries.
The snack has a golden, crisp crust and is coated with sesame seeds. It has a chewy texture with a nutty flavor.
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