Miriam: Don't make big fuss over P1-M dinner
MANILA - Administration Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday said people should not make a big fuss over the P1 million dinner of President Arroyo and her entourage at a fancy restaurant in New York last week.
Santiago, a supporter of Mrs. Arroyo, said it was Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez who gave a dinner party in honor of the First Couple because of their wedding anniversary.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde had earlier identified Romualdez as the one who paid for the $20,000 tab at the Le Cirque in New York. He also described the article in the New York Post as exaggerated.
The senator said the choice of venue was bad since the entire Philippine delegation was invited to the dinner party.
"If it is the entire Philippine delegation, then it should be a middle-priced restaurant, not one of the most expensive. This is a French restaurant; it is frequented by celebrities, by the rich and famous. It would really call attention to the Philippine presence there if there were as many as two tables because it would hold about twelve people," she said in a statement.
A New York Post online news article said Mrs. Arroyo's wine and dine at the Le Cirque totaled $20,000, which is equivalent to almost one million in Philippine peso (P955,400).
The New York Post article, posted August 7, said: "Philippines President Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was at Le Cirque the other night with a large entourage enjoying the good life... Macapagal-Arroyo ordered several bottles of very expensive wine, pushing the dinner tab up to $20,000."
Online reports earlier said Mrs. Arroyo and her entourage allegedly ordered 11 bottles of Krug champagne priced at $510 per bottle. The whole entourage also feasted on Osetra caviar ($1,400 for five ounces), a "Chef's Tasting Menu" or wine paired with a dish for $4,500 for 25 orders, and a "three-course Chef's Seasonal Menu worth $1,450 for 25 orders.
Santiago said Malacañang should just admit if there was some mistake, and to say that it was not done in bad faith.
"I don’t think that we should make a big fuss out of it. It was a mistake in good faith; nobody walks deliberately into a trap. It was a trap borne by circumstances. It could have been avoided but it wasn’t, so we should just accept our mistakes. It is true that $20,000 in New York is not very much with the standards of the rich and famous there, but in a developing country like the Philippines, that is a whole big political universe by itself: one million pesos," she said.
Villar not surprised
Sen. Manuel Villar said the $20,000 dinner tab was not surprising, considering the number of people at the dinner party. "Sa ininom nila, ganun talaga presyo. I don't think tinaga sila sa restaurant," he told ABS-CBN editors on Monday.
He added, however, that such expense can be disheartening especially since there are many Filipinos in dire economic straits in the country.
"There are certain things you don't do in public because you carry a public position. It's something a businessman can do, but if you're a politician, you can't do that. To be fair, I don't think [Mrs. Arroyo] knew what she ordered. Sa palagay ko, nagkabiglaan yun. Lahat naman kaming public officials, nag-iingat sa ganyan. Hindi kasi maganda lalo na ngayon na maraming naghihirap," he said.
Opposition leader Jejomar Binay and activist group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) had criticized the US$20,000 dinner, saying it was unconscionable in the midst of national mourning for the late former President Corazon Aquino and widespread poverty in the country.
"While the nation was in mourning, a report that Mrs. Arroyo and her people were celebrating in New York with expensive wine leaves a bad taste in the mouth," Binay said in a statement.
Binay said "the dinner was held a few hours before they left for Manila to pay their respects to Aquino at the Manila Cathedral on August 5."
"The Arroyo administration talks about giving honor and respect to the memory of the former president. It seems that spending an astonishing amount of money - enough to provide almost 3,000 hungry families with three square meals - appears to be their idea of honoring and respecting Cory," Binay said.
He added: "How Mrs. Arroyo and her administration can justify blowing P960,000 for dinner and expensive wine at a time of economic difficulty is beyond me."
Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said that even if the expensive dinner was paid by somebody else, "it still would not look appropriate" because of the Philippines' poverty and hunger rate.
Printer-friendly version
Send to friend
Share your views
TO: MIRIAM aka BRENDA o BRAINDAMAGE
Brenda/Brain Damage, para kang bola na pa gulong gulong nagmamalinis ka pero ikaw yung isa sa mga ligaw na pa ikot ikot ang utak na walang pupuntatahan kaya ka na bininyagang brenda o braindamage. Kung may utak kaman na ipinagmamalaki ang mga taong Pilipino ay hindi bobang katulad mo. Ang sambayanan ay nagrereklamo sapagkat may mga pang yayaring hindi kadapat dapat sa pamunoan, hindi katulad mong sangayon kapag ikaw ay nakaka kuha ng pabor sa pamahalaan.
SANA MABASA MO ITO AT HANDA KUNG SAGUTIN ANG IYONG KATALINUHAN KO NO, OKAY BRENDA?
Eto ka na naman... excuse me din
They went to the United States for the nth time.... They traveled the world with gusto .... and I did said THEY... Gloria and her alipores... Now that they have ALL THESE TRAVELS... where we at? Mahirap pa rin ang pinoy... Marami pa rin tayong utang... Gutom pa rin ang karamihan... Walang trabaho ang karamihan... Nagkalat ang mga Pinoy sa iba't ibang bansa, iniwan ang pamilya, iniwan ang mga mahal sa buhay dahil ang gobyerno ay patuloy sa walang pakundangan pag-gastos sa pera ng bayan... At ang masama pa nito, WALA PA RIN SILANG TIGIL SA PANGUNGURAKOT... Ang kakapal naman ninyo.... EXCUSE ME DIN... AT ETO NA NAMAN ANG MGA .... NAKU!!!!!... Bahala na ang Taas sa Kanila!!!
eto na naman po tayo...
TAMA NA PO PCIJ (OR ABS/CBN FOR THAT MATTER) AT OPOSISYON! NGAYONG INAMIN NA NA NI CONG. SUAREZ YONG $15,000 NA NAUNANG PAGKAIN AT SINABING NAUNAHAN LANG SYA NG PAGBAYAD NI ROMUALDEZ SA PANGALAWANG $20,000 DINNER, HETO NA NAMAN ANG BAGONG ILALASON NYO SA UTAK NG TAUMBAYAN? TINGNAN NYO SI CASINO, NAGBAGO NA NG TEMA AT SINABING WALA DAW LIBRE LALO NA SA PRESIDENTE. TINGNAN NYO KUNG GAANO KAMALISYOSO ANG PAGIISIP NG TAONG YAN, IBIG SABIHIN MAY KAPALIT RAW. DI PA MAN NAGAGAWA ANG KRIMEN (CORRUPTION) MAY KASALANAN NA! ANONG MAGAGAWA NYO EH, SA TALAGANG MULTI-MILLIONAIRE SI SUAREZ??? SARILING PERA NGA NYA ANG PINANGGAGASTOS SA IBANG PROYEKTO NYA YAN LANG 1 MILYONG DINNER ANG HINDI KAYA??? TALAGANG PINAGUGULO LANG AT PINAGWAWATAK-WATAK ANG TAUMBAYAN.
excuse me po, liwanagin ko lang...
Bago tayo malito at mawala sa "focus", liwanagin ko lang po ang isang mahalagang detalye sa balita. Kung tama ang aking balita, 70 katao ang reserbasyon sa nasabing "dinner". Kung hahatiin natin ang $20,000.00 sa 70 katao, $285.71 ang halaga ng kinain ni Arroyo. Dito po tayo mag-"concentrate" kasi imbitado lang naman sya; sagot na ng iba ang huli. Kaya siguro sinabi ni Merriam na "waste of time" lang, di ba?
the way i see it...
The way I see it, this barrage of negative publicity is a concerted effort to dethrone PGMA even before her term expires. There's only one more year for PGMA to rule yet these negative publicities are being brought piece meal to condition the minds of the people to rise against the government. Wag sanang mangyayari pero kung magkataon, sino ang kawawa lalo. It's possible that we could have a military junta during the civil strife, at kung sino-sino na lang ang iluklok ng military sa gobyerno. Are we prepared for another military rule? Kaya kayong mga magagaling ng peryodista na nagtatago behind the guise of investigative journalism sana maliwanagan ang isip. HUWAG NAMAN NATING PAGLARUAN ANG KINABUKASAN NG ATING MGA ANAK AT ANG SAMBAYANANG PILIPINO.
napupuna ko lang...
Napupuna ko lang na mas mga bastos at asal hayop ang mga bumabatikos kay PGMA kaysa mga pumupuri. Wag naman tayong ganyan mga kababayan kasi pinapakita lang natin lalo ang pagkaaba ng Pilipino. Kahit sa pananalita lang, ipakita natin ang ating dangal. Para sa akin, pare-pareho lang ang pulitiko. Pipiliin na lang natin ang pinakamatino sa lahat. Those meals and other issues do not make PGMA as the worst president, from Marcos down to PGMA's dispensation. Kung mahalagang batikusin natin si PGMA, mas mahalaga sigurong suriin at batikusin natin ang mga presidentiables upang makaiwas tayo sa isang mapagsamantalang presidente sa hinaharap. Alalahanin nyo mas matagal pa ang ipanunungkulan ng susunod na presidente. The reason why Merriam Santiago thinks that it is a trivial issue is that, KAILAN BA TAYO BUMABATIKOS SA GASTOS NG PAGKAIN NG PRESIDENTE? NAUBUSAN NA BA NG IBANG ISSUE ANG OPOSISYON NA MAS MAKABULUHAN? Sa tingin nyo, magre-report ba ang New York Post kung walang nagbabayad at namumuhunan para sirain lang si PGMA? Magkano naman kaya ang budget? Hindi kaya galing rin sa kaban ng bayan? Talasan na lang natin ang ating paningin mga kaibigan kasi, "ANG PUMUPUTAK AY SYANG NANGINGITLOG!"
To Villar: disheartening ka jan - what about your political ads?
Villar: "...such expense can be disheartening especially since there are many Filipinos in dire economic straits in the country..." Disheartening ka jan..sentimo nga lang yan sa gastos mo sa mga political ads mo eh. Kayong mga aspiring for presidents, ingat-ingat din kayo because you are spending a thousand folds of that dinner <= isang himutok mula sa isang taong nangangarap sa pagdating ng panahon na kung saan ang Philippine Media ay hinog na sa larangan ng pamamahayag...ng makabuluhang pamamahag.
P1 Million Dinner
Senator Miriam Santiago is playing "doble carra". Recently, she castigated the group of President Arroyo for the lavish and outlandish dinner at the Le Cirque Restaurant, a well-known French restaurant frequented by the rich and famous in NY. She even suggested that the group of PGMA should acknowledge the dinner and apologize to the Filipino people. As we already knew, Senator Santiago is the most news-hungry and attention-beater among our legislators of this decade. She jumped in every opportunity to be on the headline; be the center of focus and attention; and always in the know for everything - the typical "know-all jack-of-all trades". However, it is insulting to do this especially to President Gloria M. Arroyo, considering the fact, PGMA had supported her every whims and desires, whether personal, professional or political. She always got what she wanted! But to crucify PGMA to make herself look good, to me is very unbecoming, lack of finnesse and very impolite! WOW! Kapalmuks!
ABS-CBN paying too much attention to Communist activists
These days, you have to be a Teddy Casino, a Satur Ocampo, in this case secretary-general Renato Reyes to be heard and aired.
if you belong to one of these groups Bayan Muna, Anakbayan, Kabataan, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Gabriela, League of Filipino Students, Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Migrante, etc..chances are you'll see yourself on TV Patrol or Bandila.
Mas mahaba pa ang pinapakita sa mga nanggugulong militante kaysa sa balita ng pag-angat ng merkado sa unang kalahati ng taon o pagbukas ng Agas-Agas bridge na pinaka-mataas na tulay sa pinas.
ang pag-unlad ay nasa iyong mga kamay
@Fiscalizer
Oo nga, maraming umaalis ng bansa para hanapin ang mas magandang kapalaran but that is not the only indicator to conclude na ganun na kalala ang Pilipinas. You have to remember, yumayaman nga ang mga Chinese sa Pilipinas eh. Imagine? Lots of Filipinos are working as domestic helpers in Hongkong( I salute them, by the way) na siyang kabaligtaran naman sa mga dayuhang Chinese na namumuhuhan sa Pilipinas, lumalago. Sa davao pa lang, for example, parang China na rin sa dami ng mga Chinese na namumuhunan. Iyan ay patunay lamang na may 'POTENTIAL' sa Pilipinas para sa isang maginhawang buhay. Maaaring hindi ganun kabilis ang pag-unlad subalit tayo ay patungo roon. Ang kelangan lamang ay ipagpatuloy ang pagkilos, paggawa ng may dangal at tiwala sa sarili. Maaring may pagkukulang ang Gobyerno subalit naniniwala akong ang mga fundamental reforms ay ginagawa. I am an ordinary citizen, with basic salary, ngunit hindi ganun kalala ang tingin ko sa ating pamahalaan na para bagang wala ng nagawang mabuti. Hindi sila Diyos upang mapunan at maisakatuparan ang kaganapan ng aking pagkatao. Ang pinakamakapangyahirang...ang pinakamatatag na salik sa iyong pag-unlad ay nasa iyong mga kamay. Sa pagpapayaman ng dunong. Sa sariling pagsisikap. Sa pagkilos ng marangal at may tiwala sa sarili.
Back to GMA's dinner, why don't you ask for the receipt ( pwede kaya yun?). Check it. Calculate (with all parts of the equation included). At timbangin kung makatarungan ba para sa isang head of state na tanggapin ang ganung 'treat' mula sa isang Congressman.
PS. Iginagalang ang opinyon ng bawat panig, subalit dapat manaig ang mas matimbang.