When does it get too much to stomach? When does it get too overrated? How can people be so callous as to make an extravagance out of an already ostentatious event?

I once said that I would stop myself from talking about  Philippine Politics or at least, what seems to be left of it, but the events, the newspaper headlines in print and online, the news report, the blogs these last few days are all abuzz over this latest craze: Yammering about the supposedly $20,000 Le Cirque dinner tab of President Gloria Arroyo which might have been paid with taxpayers’ money or supposedly paid by Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.

Surely, a $20,000 (Php 940,000.00 at $1:Php 47) dinner tab is too much and might literally be too much to stomach for the average Filipino. Quoting Binay: “What they did was deplorable, especially if taxpayers’ money was spent. If they spent private money, what they did was in bad taste and again showed insensitivity to the millions of Filipinos who face hunger daily.” I agree, if taxpayers’ money were spent it would certainly be deplorable, but if it was paid supposedly through the personal money of Romualdez, who from the looks of him could definitely afford it, its another thing. The Leyte Representative played host to Pres. Gloria and the rest of their party and as a guest, it would be in bad taste if you are going to ask how much your host  is willing to pay nor how much he paid for the food you, the guest, ate.

I don’t really envy Gloria her predicament, but if she hadn’t paid for the dinner and if it is really true that she was just a guest of Romualdez, then eating at a fancy restaurant and pushing the tab up to the supposedly extravagant tab of $20,000.00 is not grounds for impeachment. I am not a fan of how she runs the country but if one is to choose the lesser evil, I would go with her. You see, I don’t want an alreay sleazy, showbiz-like politics to get even sleazier, and although some of her actions are done in bad taste, being a guest and enjoying the prestige that goes with being the president even if it was just that of a third world country is never wrong.

If I were a guest and am going to enjoy the lavish spread in front of me, I wouldn’t count the amount of peso that goes with every serving, I would enjoy every inch of it, I would taste every dish and if I were given the chance to choose the wine to go with the lavish dinner I am about to enjoy, you bet I would choose the most expensive one. And if I am going to be the host for a president I would definitely give the best that I can afford, its the president for crying out loud! What would people think if I am going to have a president eat a student meal priced at Php 40.00 or less than a dollar, or how about a $2 shawarma? That I believe would definitely be in bad taste. It does not matter if that president is from a third world country where people are supposedly dying of hunger, where one family of four could eat three times a day for approximately $2.50, you as a host would have to give a dignitary the best that you can afford. C’mon people, if you spend thousands of pesos for a party, for a dress, for a designer bag, for shoes, do you think about the poor people who could have eaten a square meal for the amount that you spent? A single cup of coffee could feed a family for a day – do you think about that when you drink your coffee and socialize with your friends? Get real!

Of course, being the president, Gloria certainly has to think about the predicament of her people but does that mean not eating anything priced above a student meal? And of course the dinner was lavish which is just right considering the people attending it. If you were to host a dinner for dignitaries, would you serve them student meals? I certainly hope not…