Is P500 really enough to buy a noche buena this coming Christmas? Malacañang said it depends on one’s strategy in buying and preparing a meal.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro, during a briefing on Friday, was asked to comment on Trade Secretary Maria Cristina Roque’s statement that P500 is enough for a noche buena budget.
Apparently caught off guard by the question, Castro said she could not answer on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
But after some thought, the Palace official said it might be possible, depending on the buyer’s budgeting.
‘If I were to compute it, if I were to buy a kilo of cheap ham, not the branded one, it would be possible. Just ham,’ she said.
‘It depends on what you’ll buy, what you’re planning to buy because there are those pre-packaged items like chopsuey. Those are cheap. Then, you buy rice noodles and soy sauce.)
According to her, there are grocery stores that offer discounts especially as Christmas and New Year celebrations draw near.
‘That depends on your strategy, but I still won’t speak on behalf of DTI,’ she said.
On Thursday, Roque said a family of four can have a noche buena meal with just P500.
‘In fact, with P500 you can already buy ham. You can make macaroni salad and spaghetti. It also depends on how many people will be eating,’ she said in an interview with DZMM.
This calculation, however, garnered criticisms from the netizens, lawmakers and various groups.
One of them came from the labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno, which called Roque’s statement an ‘insult’ to Filipino workers.
‘While they are forced to tighten their belts to make ends meet, the corrupt – Bongbong Marcos, Sara Duterte, senators, congressmen, high-ranking government officials, and their accomplices among private contractors – are reveling in the people’s stolen taxes,’ the group said in a statement on Friday.
‘We, the workers, staff, employees and ordinary Filipinos are the ones who work hard, straining our bodies every day. Let us not allow ourselves to endure nothing but insults and hardships,’ it added.
INQUIRER.net sought comment from Roque regarding the matter but has yet to receive a response as of posting time.