Militants score costly 700/plate SONA meal
At 700 per plate, the cost of a single meal in the upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Aquino could feed a poor family of five for at least three days, the militant Partido Manggagawa (PM) lamented yesterday.
PM members expressed their opposition to Congress’s plan to allocate a budget of 560,000 for the refreshments of 800 guests, who will attend the last SONA of Aquino in the House of Representatives in Batasan Hills, Quezon City on Monday.
The merienda buffet, which includes dishes ranging from Black Angus beef, chicken barbecue kebabs, baconwrapped chicken rolls, among others, would cost Congress 700 per person.
Citing data from the Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA), PM chairperson Renato Magtubo lamented this is roughly equivalent to the P204 budget for an indigent family of five to meet their daily nutrition needs.
“For lawmakers and VIP guests, the SONA menu for merienda may look ordinary or even cheap. But for a jobless person and for the many families living in subsistence level, a 700/plate merienda made of black angus and shrimp rolls, among others, is lavishly alienating and of course, insulting,” Magtubo said.
Magtubo said the same amount could pay for the daily 200 wage of a worker in a sweatshop, “life liner’s monthly electricity bill of 70 kWh, or provide an MRT ride to an employee for 25 days.
He said this highlights the persisting inequality between the rich and the poor in the country.
Smaller budget The House of Representatives has allocated a budget of at least 2.2 million for an extra-special and last SONA of President Aquino on Monday, July 27.
House Secretary General Marlyn Barua-Yap assured that despite the decrease in their SONA budget, the quality of the program won’t suffer.
“Our last year’s budget was 2.3 million, this year we don’t want to exceed that budget. Our estimate is 2.2 million,” Yap said in a media briefing.
“Nagtitipid tayo but we don’t want to compromise the quality of the program, this is the last and we will make it special just like the other SONAs,” she said.
Barua-Yap said they are expecting more guests, including former members of Congress, citing that they already sent 2,700 invitations.
She disclosed that about 800 persons will be invited to join the President in a dinner after the SONA, which will be catered by the Center Table Catering Inc.
No fashion show Aside from the SONA menu, TUCP executive vice president Gerard Seno also criticized some lawmakers for spending so much on expensive clothes, when attending the annual SONA.
“The SONA is not a fashion show…it is illogical and unethical for our lawmakers to parade in the halls of congress wearing costly, extravagant clothes during the SONA when millions of their constituent Filipinos are languishing in hunger and poverty,” Seno said.
TUCP has called on the respective heads of the House of Representatives and Senate to create their own “fashion police,” which will ensure their members, will exercise propriety during the SONA.
“There should be a committee at both Houses that sets an internal rules teaching our lawmakers the simple way to dress and putting a cap on the cost of clothes they wear during SONA and during sessions,” TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.
Traffic rerouting A portion of Commonwealth Avenue near the Batasan Complex in Quezon City will be closed to vehicular traffic for the last SONA of President Aquino on Monday.
From 3:00 a.m., the stretch of Commonwealth Avenue from Ever Gotesco to St. Peter Church (northbound) will be closed to traffic.
To manage the huge number of vehicles that will be affected, a zipper lane will be opened at the southbound lane of Congressional Avenue from Jocfer Building to Commission on Audit for northbound vehicles.
MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said 1,200 personnel composed of teams from the Traffic Discipline Office, Road Emergency Group, and Sidewalk Clearing Operations Group will be deployed to manage both vehicular and pedestrian traffic and support the operations of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and the Quezon City Police District. (with a report from Anna Liza Villas – Alavaren)