Food vlogger Abi Marquez has this reaction to the ₱500 Noche Buena budget.
Lumpia Queen Abi Marquez airs her personal opinion about the ₱500 Noche Buena budget of DTI, which was already rejected by many.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) earlier issued this year’s Noche Buena price guide, along with the claims of Trade Secretary Cristina Roque, saying ₱500 is enough for a Noche Buena of a small family.
This claim sparked significant buzz online. While some believed it was possible and achievable, many dismissed the idea. Critics argued that the public deserves far more, emphasizing that government officials should focus on doing their jobs well to improve people’s lives, so citizens won’t have to settle for something this minimal.
Even Vice President Sara Duterte rejected DTI’s assertion that ₱500 is enough for a complete Noche Buena meal for a Filipino family of four.
Recently, food vlogger Abi Marquez reacted to this, and she was enraged by the thought. As someone who knows her way with food and how these affect people and situations, she is deeply against it. She is so frustrated.
Technically, she believes this is possible, but the question is, will the people be happy? She added, “Kasi when they released the budget, they enumerated the ingredients: pasta, sauce, hotdog–– asan yung sibuyas? Yung oil? Yung bawang? Yung cheese? Yung ketchup? Hindi kumpleto.”
She just felt passionate about the issue as her influence and passion are aligned with the issue. She just felt sad that it feels like they’re saying this is the value people have, and this is all they deserve for Noche Buena. It saddens her to think how little value is being given to people, to the point that they would suggest settling for that amount when they can’t even do it to prove the claim.
“It’s not about if [it’s] kaya or hindi–– kasi nga kaya nga but sad. Then again, you see how much they think you deserve so that’s really sad for me. I’m very against it. Costing wise, yung mga practitioners will say that’s very vague–– macaroni salad with just these three ingredients? I can’t even make that,” she continued.
Focusing on the “value” alone is frustrating, she said. She encouraged people to make their own choices, reminding them that they have the freedom to decide how simple or how grand they want their Noche Buena to be.
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