Benjamin Alves appears enraged as he released a series of posts criticizing the P500 ‘noche buena’ budget suggested by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), regarding such as a ‘disrespect’ to the working class.
The actor was reacting to DTI Secretary Cristina Roque’s remark that P500 would suffice to prepare a basic Christmas meal for a Filipino family of four.
‘Kahit siguro ChatGPT di kakayanin i-render yung 500 pesos noche buena na yan, madame,’ Alves said via his Facebook page on Friday, Nov. 28.
He even pointed out how the government is urging the public to work around a P500 budget on Christmas, all while corrupt officials steal from public funds at any given day.
‘Magta-trabaho ka at makikipagsapalaran sa commute, mag bubudget ka buwan-buwan, linggo linggo, maiiyak ka na kaiisip paano mo ba pakakasyahin pera mo. Only for them to say: sapat na yung kita mo for noche buena,’ he added in a separate post.
‘Stop disrespecting the working class!’ he exclaimed.
Alves further stressed that the government should be working on lowering the cost of basic necessities instead of making such unrealistic suggestions.
‘I say NO TAXES until the government can figure out a very public, very transparent, method of distributing our money,’ he stated.
Celebrities Pokwang and Bianca Gonzalez shared the same sentiment on the matter, expressing their dismay through their respective social media pages.
‘Kung hindi ninanakawan ang bansa at naibibigay nang tama ang para sa mga tao-lalo na sa mga maliliit na manggagawa-malamang mayaman tayo, walang api, at malamang kasya nga ang P500 na pang noche buena,’ Pokwang wrote. Gonzalez, for her part, echoed the remark of an unnamed netizen who lamented, ‘Kapiranggot lang ba ang deserve ng pamilyang Pinoy?’
Despite criticisms, Roque has maintained that the P500 budget ‘is really possible,’ noting that this was based on the DTI’s recent noche buena price guide.