When a fellow lawyer sent me the New York Post page with the article about President Gloria Arroyo’s Le Cirque dinner in New York, my mouth fell open. After the initial shock, however, I started checking and cross checking media reports against facts. The full text of the New York Post article:
The economic downturn hasn’t persuaded everyone to pinch pennies. Philippine President Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was at Le Cirque the other night with a large entourage enjoying the good life, even though the former comptroller of her country’s armed services, Carlos Garcia, was found guilty earlier this year of perjury and two of his sons were arrested in the US on bulk cash-smuggling charges. Macapagal-Arroyo ordered several bottles of very expensive wine, pushing the dinner tab up to $20,000.
The article was not filed under “Eat and Drink” section, as claimed in a Business World report published yesterday (see “Congressman’s explanation of lavish NY dinner sought”). There is no such section in the New York Post. The title of the report is “Eat and Drink” and it was published under “Page Six” which is the gossip section of the New York Post. Don’t take my word for it – check the New York Post website. In the navigation menu – the horizontal bar just below the banner – the link to Page Six is sandwiched between Sports and Business.
I searched Google images for a scanned image of the Le Cirque bill, reportedly circulating around the Internet according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s report entitled “Palace: Just simple dinner”, but I found none. However, in the same report, the Philippine Daily Inquirer itemized the Le Cirque dinner bill as follows:
The restaurant tab, purported copies of which have since circulated on blogs, showed that the Arroyo delegation had five servings of wild golden osetra caviar ($1,400), 11 bottles of Krug champagne ($5,610), and 25 orders each of the Chef’s Seasonal Menu and Tasting Menu (totaling $1,450 and $4,500 respectively), along with 17 other items.
I went to the Le Cirque website and downloaded the menu in PDF format. The Chef’s Seasonal Menu is priced at $58. The Tasting Menu with wine pairings is USD180. Do your math – multiply both amounts by 25 and you get $1,450 and $4,500 respectively. I couldn’t find the osetra caviar and Krug champagne in the Le Cirque menu, and what the other 17 items could be is anyone’s guess, so let’s leave those out of the discussion.
The New York Post, despite its massive circulation and the fact that it has been in existence since 1801 (as the New York Evening Post), is not exactly what I’d call a credible publication. It is a tabloid and it is categorized as such not only because of the size of its pages but because of the substance of its content. In 1976, it was bought by Rupert Murdoch for $30 million – yes, the same Murdoch who owns Fox News Channel on your cable television. It was Murdoch who imported “tabloid journalism” from Great Britain and introduced it to the New York Post. Tabloid journalism? Yes, you know, sensational headlines like “Headless Body in Topless Bar.”
In terms of journalistic ethics and accuracy in reporting, the New York Post has been embroiled in a lot of controversies including alteration of photographs and publication of downright misleading articles – some of the latter ran without bylines. In its Jan/Feb 1980 issue, the Columbia Journalism Review said that “the New York Post is no longer merely a journalistic problem. It is a social problem – a force for evil.”
Despite the paper’s shady ethics and less-than-credible stories, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the New York Post’s Page Six article “Eat and Drink” about Mrs. Arroyo’s Le Cirque dinner is false nor inaccurate. Even the most lurid publications do manage to come out with bits of truth on occasion.
That the dinner actually took place is not denied. Mrs. Arroyo and her husband did dine at the Le Cirque with a number of people. That Le Cirque is an expensive restaurant is not being contested either. Most Americans cringe at $20 dinners and Le Cirque’s is pegged at $58. I’ve seen its website and the photos of the restaurant are straight out of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. The burning issues are, first, the total cost of the dinner and, second, who paid for it and with whose money.
Because many hate Mrs. Arroyo, as a person, what she stands for and the fact that after all that has been said and done she is still the President, people are ready and willing to believe the New York Post article as an accurate documentation of the whole truth about the Le Cirque dinner. And yet, the reputation of the paper tells us, in no uncertain terms, that, in the absence of corroborating evidence, it is not wise to believe based alone on the Page Six article.
Yet, many believe and most of those that believe are also angry. There is that accusation that she squandered taxpayer’s money. Malacanang denies it and says the dinner was paid for by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, son of former Ambassador Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez who is the brother of former First Lady Imelda Marcos. As of yesterday morning, no news reports have come out on Rep. Romualdez’s version of what transpired. So, we’re in that situation where Malacanang’s claim remains unverified.
If it is true that Rep. Romualdez did pay for the dinner, would we be less horrified and angry? We can go farther and check whether the Romualdez fortune came from taxpayers’ money but even if we just read what has already been written about the incident, we will realize that this is beyond the issue of who paid the bill and whether or not it was paid with taxpayers’ money.
This is about a perception of insensitivity. FACT: she had dinner at Le Cirque. FACT: Le Cirque is an ultra expensive restaurant. The President of a poor country feasting like Nero in New York. Who paid the bill is secondary. People are angry because Mrs. Arroyo had the bad taste to flaunt all that extravagance in our faces.
Curious, really. A lot of government officials flaunt their extravagant lifestyles in our faces every single day with their taxpayer paid Mercedes Benzes and limos and gourmet meals – from Malacanang Palace to governor’s mansions. Presidents have entertained visiting royalties and dignitaries with feasts and pageants and rarely have they gotten flak. We even pay for the upkeep of a PALACE and all the meals served inside it and we’ve been knowingly doing it for decades. Compared to what it takes to run the private quarters and kitchens of Malacanang day in and day out, the cost of the Le Cirque dinner must be a pittance, but who has asked for an itemization of the expenses?
Sassy,
I agree with your observation: “Because many hate Mrs. Arroyo, as a person, what she stands for and the fact that after all that has been said and done she is still the President, people are ready and willing to believe the New York Post article as an accurate documentation of the whole truth about the Le Cirque dinner.”
I also believe that another big factor in this regard is the almost zero (or negative?) credibility of Arroyo and her government that people would readily believe a tabloid like the New York Post than Arroyo’s official liar Remonde (Bunye must be thanking heavens for being relieved just in time). Just to mention one of the most recent lies: Malacanang reported that GMA was on self-quarantine for 2 days (re H1N1) after her trips to various countries last month; later on the truth would come out that Arroyo had her breast implants checked-up/replaced.
Even in this dinner fiasco alone, Remonde was quick in saying it’s a poisonous propaganda of the communists, and blaming the party group Bayan for the reports (when Bayan and all media only lifted the report from the New York Post)! Sison must be so happy relishing the free propaganda for his movement.
I’m not knowledgeable about our law on this – but even if it’s not legally required, isn’t it only proper for a head of state to account for his/her travel expenses immediately after the travel and publicly report on it? Would not publishing the authentic bill and who really paid for it more than sufficient to clear the issue?
“even if it’s not legally required, isn’t it only proper for a head of state to account for his/her travel expenses immediately after the travel and publicly report on it?”
Discretionary funds are appropriated by law. Unless the appropriating law also mandates that the recipient account for the money, then, he can’t be forced.
Congress makes the law including appropriations laws. Every member of Congress is also a recipient of discretionary (pork barrel) funds. So you see the situation. Congress will never pass an appropriations bill that may set a precedent that will require them to make an accounting too.
It isn’t just travel. It’s how every centavo of the discretionary (pork barrel) funds are disbursed.
Thanks indeed for the succinct clarification, Sassy; didn’t mean to disturb you on legal issues.
So there we are…I might as well go back to learning some cooking fundamentals including how to cook some of your very good recipes and forget politics (and free myself from hypertension). And then content myself with ‘cuatro cantos’ with ‘adidas’ as pulutan, instead of champagne and caviar. Cheers!
HAHAHA I agree! Cooking is healthier for the mind. Politics is sickening.
Re “didn’t mean to disturb you on legal issues”
That’s okay. You weren’t consulting about having your marriage annulled so it’s fine. LOL
Sassy,
If I remember correctly, goverment accounting is governed by Philippine generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). In GAAP, efficiency and relevance are two of the most important characteristics of an accounting information to give it integrity it deserves. With this in mind, advances must then be properly accounted for or efficiency of the information would be lacking because the advances account will not give us the quality of information that is needed (therefore, could be abused). The information could only be relevant if it is given on a timely basis. Hopefully, COA people know this.
To make the long story short, people from the government may not be legally liable but they are ethically bound to account their advances on a timely basis.
I have yet to see a government official do what is ethically expected from him/her.
Carol B., I think your last sentence sums it up perfectly.
Presidency is indeed a caviar dreams. It is the office that you get a lot of perks. Per presidential spokesman, the lavish dinner is paid for by somebody else under the notion that it comes with the position and indeed they have the right to enjoy. And so was Estrada thought the commission on property deals was his while he was the president that ended up in the plunder case but was later pardoned. Jose Miguel Arroyo is enjoying windfall in lucrative business deals that hardly can be made if his wife is not the president. The message by politicians are the same, it is okay as long as it is not taxpayers money.
Just this month, we were able to realize how far different was the late President Cory Aquino (refusal to stay in Malacanang) from the rest of the breed.
You know this caviar dreams is a very powerful motivation. I have a cousin in the police who came to the US under FBI training. He was offered a post at Homeland Security with high starting salary and his family to migrate. He refused and we were all aghast. It would have been his golden chance to get out of the corrupt system he described in the police that each paid for the rank. His justification, nothing can beats the perks of being a general and he is just a step away. He even offered a 24/7 police escort whenever I will be on vacation (goodbye to your taxes and who needs unwanted attention with police bodyguards? not me).
Connie, if ever I win the lotto, mag la lifestyle of the rich and fmaous din tayo sa Le Cirque.
Sige! hehehe
Marvin Tuason, i am sorry but this is off topic. I just received this email from a friend in Saudi, but i just dont know if this is true?
Ma’am Connie, what can you say about the truthfulness of the lottery draws in the philippines.
RE:LOTTERY DRAWS
Another money-making scheme is the LOTTERY DRAWS. Filipinos should be aware that all LOTTO DRAWS are orchestrated, and big money goes to the two sons of the lady president. Recent example is the SUPER LOTTO 6/49 draw, where supposedly two individuals from Luzon won. Do you know WHO these individuals are? It’s Mikey and Datu, who else? One might ask how can the draw be rigged when it is being televised in front of millions of viewers. The answer is simple. As you all know, all bet combinations are being entered into PCSO’s main data base as it is on-line, therefore, it is easy to determine which combinations were NOT betted upon. If they want to raise big money, no winners will be declared until the JACKPOT reaches sky-high because they could dictate the outcome at will. When it’s “HARVEST TIME”, viola, there would be “winner or winners” and the process repeats all over again. One might ask how this is being done. One insider told our investigators that actually the “DRAWN BALLS”, six balls to be exact, are the only set which could fit into the transparent tube which sucks the balls up. All others are slightly bigger than the diameter of the tube which could not be distinguished by the viewers, therefore, there’s no way they could be drawn! You Filipinos are being skinned alive, fried in your own fat and lard by your own government. Do you ever wonder why president-elect BARACK OBAMA, avoids your president like a stinking leper?
-World Bank
I received that e-mail. The name of the supposed World Bank official was never revealed. And I’m really not a believer in controversial info from unnamed sources.
You may want to check again the menu since all the items that mentions are there :
Wild Osetra caviar is under Seafood and Caviar at 280 an oz
Krug is under wine list which is under page 2 at 510 per bottle.
Under which section is that?
Ms. Sassy, kakadepress naman ang topic mo ngayon……..huhuhu kelan kaya gaganda at uunlad ang buhay nating mga Filipino dito sa Pilipinas. Wish ko lang, we could be something like Singapore. Nice take on the issue though, thanks for sharing!
Alam mo napansin ko, pag stressed out na ako kaka-hugas ng kaldero at kakasampay ng labada, nakaka-stress din mga topic ng column ko. Column nga pala sa Manila Standard Today itong Le Cirque/New York Post piece na ito.
You got a good routine right there and your columns are very engaging mentally. But those high officials with sedated life of champagne and caviar can drop dead like flies from heart attack.
Ms. Sassy, baka gusto mo na din isama dito sa topic mo ang mainit init pa na Bobby Van’s Steakhouse dinner nila that costed $15,000 paid in CASH with generous tip pa daw. Hindi ko na alam kung mahihimatay ako o magdidilim ang paningin ko e. Haaay naku, buti na lang I read your chocolate marble cheesecake post in Pinoy Cook, nahimasmasan ako hehehe….
San ba na-report yung Steakhouse dinner na yun?
I saw it on 24 oras tonight and read it in market manila then he linked it to manolo quezon’s blog, you might want to check it out since your “house on the hill” was also mentioned in his blog. here’s his blogsite–> http://www.quezon.ph/2009/08/12/le-circus-freak/
house on the hill was cited under the date, Aug 11
happy reading …
Elit, sus ang haba haba haba haba naman nung article ni Manolo. Di kaya ng patience ko hahahaha
If there are 25 covers each for the Tasting Menu and the Seasonal Menu, as reported, then, these would be the possibilities: 1. There are in fact 50 Persons who dined; 2. There are 25 Persons who dined and they consumed a lot of food, 2 set dinners, in fact; or 3. The report is unreliable and we owe ourselves to know what is the true data.
Also, as far as the Tasting menu, I wonder how one can still order more side dishes, as reported. This dinner, also called “degustation” is a meticulously prepared set consisting of several opening dishes and soups, several mains and several desserts and cheeses, served with matching wines. The key to this dinner is that the portions are not full portions, just “Tasting” Portions. Still unless the guest is a voracious eater, the sheer number of successive dishes, (interrupted with sorbets, at times. to cleanse the palate) and the leisurely pace of the dinner would make it entirely filling. The wines, which could be as many as 4 to 5 varieties could also make ordering a separate vintage, a remote possibility, specially since the Chef has already offered the optimal selection that matches the food.
The only person who is happy about the news is probably Imelda Romualdez Marcos. She is repeatedly saying she had been vindicated.
I mean if Romualdez had paid the $20k tab as wedding anniversary gift for the Filipino 1st couple, the government recovery mission on ill-gotten wealth is all a show, not to mention the countless failed cases at court.
I’m glad I’m a private citizen so I can dine at Le Cirgue (where I have to take a second mortgage on my home to afford it) or eat at a McDo (where I will be labeled “kuri” as in kuripot by my friends and relatives) and it is not going to bug anybody but me LOL.
LOL The price of being a public figure.
baka naman nag-uwi pa sila ng caviar at krug wine na pasalubong kaya sobrang laki ng inabot ng bill nila.
on the le cirque website, there’s a tab on the left where the menu is listed. the menu reveals that the wild golden osetra caviar is priced at $280 per ounce. there is likewise a wine list, where several types of Krug champagne are priced between $150 to 570.
I’ve downloaded the dinner, lunch and breakfast menus and still can’t locate the caviar. I’ve even checked the party planners.
Connie, it’s in the dinner menu under “Seafood and Caviar.” The Wild Golden Osetra Caviar is $280 for an ounce. The Californian Osetra Caviar is “only” $100 for 1 oz.
By the way, I have to congratulate the party for exercising some fiscal restraint. They ordered the $510 bottle of Krug instead of the $2,510 Dom Perignon “Oenotheque.” LOL!
Ok will check that again.
I don’t really hate gloria for eating in a fancy restaurant. Hindi ko din ma gets kung bakit madaming nagagalit. Head of State sya. Alangan naman na kumain sila sa jollibee or mcdo para lang sabihin nakikisimpatiya ako sa mga naghihirap sa pilipinas. Diba ka iprokituhan yun?
I remember a quote dati na “Im a head of state, How can I command respects of other world leaders if I live like a pauper?” parang ganun ang tema.
Jeez, I love reading the comments. Sass, I’d say that your post is once again superb in its objectivity.
New York Post, NYT, Time Mag, Newsweek, WAPO and those alphabet news outlet IN US of America – what they have in common is credibility issue. Specifically in getting the news out instead of getting the news right. Ito yata ang model ng ABS-CBN, GMA7, and Inquirer.
There is this new coined word in the media – PRESSTITUTION…
Fox News, I think, is the model of both ABS-CBN and GMA 7.
Are you serious? Now we know why news over these networks are always presented in a sensationalized manner.
Yah, serious. Kasi, they didn’t invent that format, eh. Fox already started the trend and the stats are public knowledge.
I don’t think ABS-CBN and GMA 7 model is Fox News. I would say their model is more on NBC style. Getting the news out instead of getting the news right.
Your right, it’s not about how much they spent. It’s a matter of discretion in the face of the current economic situation back home. But since scruple is not in their dictionary, it is safe to surmise that they may have sociopathic tendencies.
Come to think of it, I once read that, to be an effective manager, you should have a little bit of that personality disorder’s behavior. Do you think she’s is effective enough? The only thing I can think of her effectiveness is clinging to power at all cost.
If she weren’t the president, or if she weren’t any government official, we wouldn’t care less if she spent twice as much on dinner. So, yes, it’s perception. It’s insensitivity. Thing is, she didn’t get elected to be sensitive. No president is. And to be more blunt about it, there is no relation between administrative/managerial capacity and being insensitive.
It’s like the Clinton-Lewinsky affair. He may have been immoral but that didn’t make him a better or worse president.
We may also look on the other side of why a lot of political personalities want to take over the presidency without going through the election process. IMO, GMA won the last presidential election and she should finish her term.
My point is – she is not clinging to power, she won a presidential election.
The way many people think these days, if a crows goes out on the streets and demand someone’s resignation and that person does not resign, he or she is clinging to power. It isn’t always easy to find the logic but then mobs aren’t known for their logic. They tend to repeat what they heard last and loudest.