In this season of discontent, the government seems to be going out of its way to court trouble.
The flak drawn by the idea of Noche Buena for P500 should bring home to the government the importance of proper messaging.
If you’re going to set a price tag for Noche Buena, the parameters must be clearly laid out.
First, the nature of the Noche Buena must be clarified: it’s a once-a-year feast, not an ordinary meal, held on the most joyous night in Christendom.
Second, the budget being propounded must be matched with the income level. For someone whose daily fare is local instant noodles (not the Japanese or Korean brands, which are about 10 times more expensive) with one egg, or a cup of rice with a piece of tuyo, P500 could buy a special homemade meal.
Definitely, that budget is not for a middle class feast. And of course it won’t buy even one item of silverware at the Noche Buena table in the rarefied enclaves of the uber rich.
Third, the size of the household that will partake of a P500 “feast” must be defined. Is a three-child household still considered the average family size? Population growth has slowed; is the average family size now four?
And finally, the menu must be specified. Not all people want ham and genuine queso de bola from Europe. I know even a former Dutch official who asked me why Filipinos like edam so much (I don’t), which he said he and a number of his compatriots find overly dry and salty.
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I visit supermarkets and the wet markets once a week. What can P500 buy? From my latest grocery shopping bill: a small chicken for home cooking (P180-P190 per kilo at major supermarket chains). One medium egg (P8) plus a small pack of Maggi Magic Sarap (P5) for frying the chicken (or one Crispy Fry Magic Sarap, no need for egg, P18). A pack of UFC “Swak” spaghetti with 500 grams of sweet sauce, touted to be “good for 9 plates” (P71.50).
In the wet market, red hotdogs (Pinoys like red) can be bought for as low as P5 per small link. So six links minimum to be sliced thinly for the spaghetti, P30. Local cheese, 250 grams (P36 to P37). Half a kilo of P20 rice (the volume doubles after cooking) to fill the stomach.
For dessert, fruit salad is a Christmas favorite. The lowest priced regular can of “tropical” fruit cocktail (no grapes, pears, peaches) costs P91.50. It will need a carton of “2-in-1” sweetened “kremdesada” priced at P47. Maybe a bar of gulaman can be cooked and tossed in (P10 per bar in the wet market), to bulk up the salad, plus a sachet of pineapple tidbits, P16.50.
With cooking oil, water and LPG costs, the amount comes to around P550. To meet the budget, the Magic Sarap and egg can be replaced with just salt and pepper for the fried chicken. The cheese can be omitted. With some extra cash, it can be replaced with a 250-gram pack of unbranded sliced ham, sold for as low as P35 in the wet market.
For malnourished parents with stunted children, that’s a meal more special than their usual fare. But is that a feast? The word is relative.
Definitely, it’s no feast for the foodies who are now restaurant-hopping to check out the places that received Michelin recognition.
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Before I began cooking my own ham, my favorite was Excelente, sold in Quiapo. As of yesterday, a kilo of Excelente whole boneless Chinese ham was priced at P2,890, and whole bone-in, P2,980 (with extra glaze syrup at P150 per pack).
My middle-class idea of artery-busting indulgence during the holidays is a thick slab of ham sandwiched between two slices of raisin loaf slathered with a thick layer of butter, brushed with honey and sprinkled with grated Gouda.
That sandwich, which I eat only during the Christmas holidays because it could land me in the hospital, could cost half of P500 even when made at home. I know other gluttons who indulge in what I call the heart attack sandwich.
I belong to the middle-middle income class. Just think of what types of decadent food items the wealthy households splurge on during the holidays.
This is why the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) should have provided context for its P500 for Noche Buena.
Better yet, since the variables are complicated, the DTI should have just refrained from putting a price tag on Christmas feasting.
Without setting the premise for what I enumerated for such a Christmas Eve “feast,” the DTI was asking for the public bashing. Amid all the outrage over the shameless display of stolen wealth, the government is seen to be tone-deaf, insensitive to public suffering.
But at least, with people now pointing out the inadequacy of P500 for food, the plight of the poor is highlighted.
The unintended consequence for the government? It has shown how feasting will be beyond the reach of millions of Filipinos this Christmas.