The Journey Continues…

It has been weeks since the New York Post posted an article about the controversial dinner of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her whole entourage at the Le Cirque Restaurant in New York City. According to the article, the bill was a whopping US$20,000.00, it was Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of the First District of Leyte who claimed to have paid the entire cost of the dinner.

…You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ excerpts from The Parable of the Rich Fool Luke 12:13-21 NIV

The first term legislator from Leyte is the nephew of former First Lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos to his brother former Leyte Governor Cocoy Romualdez, of course we know how big the Romualdez are in the country.

After hearing about the news, I just shrugged, I just thought that fine dining is just normal for the elite, then came another news about another presidential dinner, this time they feasted on lobsters and steaks at the Bobby Van’s Restaurant in Washington. Another congressman claimed to have paid the bill, the gentleman from the Third District of Quezon Province, Rep. Danilo Suarez was in charge of paying US$15,000.00.

Hmmm… Another rich congressman from an impoverished district paid for the dinner?

Again, I shrugged. If they provided the correct number of guests (who feasted on the food) which was 65 and the amounts $15k in Bobby Van’s and $20k in Le Cirque totaling to $35,000.00, let’s do the math, $35,000 divided by 65 = $538.46 each for the 2 dinners, that’s more than the monthly earning of 2 minimum wage earners in Metro Manila. But that was in New York and Washington, a Big Mac™ meal would cost you about $15 in those places what more if you eat in a fine dining restaurant.

I was almost convinced that despite the difficulties of life here in my beloved country the Philippines, our ‘hard-working’ leaders deserves to enjoy good food i.e. lobsters, steaks and caviar after a full day of work. It was when I heard this stupid comment from the presidential son and Pampanga 2nd District Representative Mikey Arroyo that raised my eyebrow. (click here to watch the video)

So there’s no dignity in eating at McDonald’s® or turo-turo? Did US President Barack Obama and his Vice President Joe Biden lost their dignity when they stopped by Ray’s Hell Burger in Arlington and ate some burgers?

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground… Genesis 3:19 NIV

Not to be so melodramatic about this, but I believe that whenever I eat, whether in McDonald’s or Turo-turo or anywhere else, I’m eating with dignity simply because I know that the money that I’m spending came from my toil.