The DFA yesterday admitted that the $10,000 a month apartment rented by Rebong at the posh Trump Plaza in Manhattan is "expensive," but said her stay there is not permanent.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Gilberto Asuque defended Rebong’s rental of the Trump Plaza apartment by saying that New York is a very expensive city.
He also said Rebong’s stay at the Trump Plaza is only temporary, pending the renovation of the official Philippine residence in New York, referring to the government-owned six-story townhouse located along 66th Street in Manhattan.
However, since there is no timetable and apparently no budget for completing these renovations, he could not say when Rebong would be relocating there.
Asuque said in the meantime, the Trump Plaza befits Rebong’s level of representation as a consul general of the Philippines.
"It’s expensive, but that’s how it is in New York. There may be more affordable lodgings, but there are probably no vacancies," he said.
He also clarified that it was not Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo who approved Rebong’s request to stay at Trump Plaza, but Romulo’s predecessor, Delia Albert.
As to the six-story Philippine residence in downtown Manhattan, Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Lauro Baja occupies the first three floors of the official residence.
The upper three floors of the building where Rebong was to reside have been in a state of disrepair for many years and it will cost the government a large sum to make it habitable, Asuque admitted.
Some Filipino diplomats in the United States, who asked not to be named, defended Rebong, saying she is entitled to the actual cost of her living quarters as head of the consulate in New York if the government does not have appropriate lodgings for her to use.
"Rebong had been looking for a suitable apartment for so many months before she moved in to Trump (Plaza). Others were more expensive than that. It would not be appropriate to have the highest-ranking Philippine official in New York staying in Queens (a residential area outside Manhattan)," one diplomat said.
The diplomat added that a consul general would need to find a place in Manhattan that is well appointed to his or her level of representation.
Rebong "needs a place where she can entertain guests and for receptions. It just probably became an issue because of the impression that it is a Trump property," another diplomat said.
"Actually, some of the previous consul generals rented property that cost almost the same. The consul general does not deserve to be criticized for it," the diplomat said.