Davao Cong. Paolo Duterte Believes P500 Not Enough for Noche Buena
PAOLO DUTERTE – The Davao Congressman reacted to Malacañang supporting the P500 Noche Buena budget proposed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
It is now holiday season again. The Philippines is one of the countries with the longest Christmas holiday season and many Filipinos are really into celebrations. However, the inflation rate in the country is increasing for several years now and many families are experiencing financial struggles in their household.
Recently, Department of Trade and Industry said that P500 is allegedly enough for the noche buena celebration. However, it met several criticisms from many Filipinos considering the high costs of a lot of products now. On the other side, there are also those who believe that it is possible under certain circumstances.
DTI Secretary Christina Roque also defended the P500 Noche Buena budget and stressed that it is possible. According to her, it depends on the number of family members but it is supposedly possible for a family of four.
Malacañang press officer undersecretary Claire Castro expressed support to the claim of the DTI that a P500 budget for noche buena is supposedly enough. According to the Palace, it depends on the strategy of budgeting the money for the celebration. Her remarks seemingly did not sit well with Davao Congressman Paolo Duterte.
Davao Cong. Paolo Duterte took to social media a statement regarding the Palace’s support on the P500 noche buena budget proposed by the DTI. In his statement, the Davao Congressman believes that setting the said amount for the celebration is allegedly a “fantasy”.
“Ante Kler, kung ganyan din lang ang level ng analysis mo, mas bagay siguro sa’yo mag-notaryo sa Recto kaysa mag-lecture sa taumbayan kung sapat ba ang ₱500 para sa Noche Buena. Kasi halata, wala ka talagang idea sa totoong hirap ng tao. Busog kasi kayo—hindi sa pagmamahal sa bayan—kundi busog sa korapsyon, kaya hindi niyo na alam magkano ang bili sa palengke,” Duterte said.
Davao Cong. Paolo Duterte further slammed the Malacañang for supporting the P500 noche buena budget and accused them of allegedly having an “imaginary shopping mall” wherein everything is supposedly cheap and affordable and they are not the ones paying for what they buy.
“₱500 Noche Buena? Madam, kahit ‘yung ham na kasing nipis ng konsensya ng grupo niyo, hindi na ‘yan kasya… Next time, bago kayo mag-defend ng ganyang klasing insulto sa sambayanan, try niyong mag-grocery challenge sa tindahan sa kanto,” the Davao Congressman said.
According to Cong. Paolo Duterte, if the mission of the Malacañang press officer is allegedly to downplay the struggles of the ordinary Filipino families, Castro should not be using her being a lawyer. Based on the post, he called on the Palace official not to allegedly insult the intelligence of the people.
“Sa huli, ang ₱500 Noche Buena narrative ninyo magiging simbolo ng uri ng leadership na meron kayo: mukhang ham pero puro mantika, mukhang queso pero hangin ang laman, at mukhang serbisyo pero drawing lang,” he said.
Recently, Award-winning actress and Quezon City councilor Aiko Melendez also led the outcry on the P500 Christmas feast plan proposed by DTI.