Skip to main content

Unpopular Opinion: DTI Secretary Cristina's PHP 500.00 Noche Buena Remark May be an Overdue Christmas Eye Opener


I expect people to backlash on me. However, I feel I need to publish this harsh opinion. Maybe, DTI Secretary Crisina Aldeguer-Roque failed to do some necessary steps. For one, the term Noche Buena means "Good Night". One could ask, "What's for Noche Buena?" I have seen some people post the simpleng handaan as "Noche Buena" on Facebook. Somebody could say, "We bought hanging rice, grilled pork belly, and made a vegetable salad for greens." Perhaps the person only spent PHP 500.00 for the noche buena, given that the vegetables were based on availability from the time one went to the grocery. 

As I read through the November 29, 2025, update (written by John Eric Mendoza, Krixia Subingsubing, Logan Kal-El M. Zapanta), I noticed some violent reactions are from anti-reform people like the IBON Foundation and Kilusang Mayo Uno:
Sonny Africa, executive director of economic watchdog Ibon Foundation, believes that even the agency knows it’s not realistic.

“I think they are saying that on air even though they know it’s not true, to really cover up the worsening situation,” he said in a phone interview with the Inquirer on Friday.

For labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno, Aldeguer-Roque’s statement was an “insult” to Filipino workers who “are forced to tighten their belts to make ends meet” while the corrupt “are reveling in the people’s stolen taxes.”

Following criticisms from various quarters, Aldeguer-Roque insisted on her claim at a press conference on Friday.

“It’s really possible for a family of four,” she said, arguing that her estimate was based on the DTI noche buena price guide released in November.

Citing prices from the DTI guide, Aldeguer-Roque suggested three noche buena bundles that can be purchased for under or near P500 and can serve a family of four.

One bundle costs P374.50, with Christmas ham (P170 for 500 g), spaghetti sauce (P48.50), spaghetti noodles (P30 for 250 g), fruit cocktail (P61.75 for 432g), all-purpose cream (P36.50 for 110 ml), and “pan de sal” (P27.75 for 10 pieces).

Sure, I find Mrs. Roque's arguments to be somewhat misleading. I was thinking about how not all Filipinos associate noche buena with ham, spaghetti, fruit salad, or a table full of fattening food. Some Filipinos have learned to avoid the extravagant noche buena, one way or another. I feel Mrs. Roque could've said, "With PHP 500.00, you can buy some liempo, puso (hanging rice), some fruits, and use whatever's available." I was laughing at Mrs. Roque's arguments of the bundle not because of its size, but because of what I perceived to be nutritionally deficient. As a person who worked out almost daily to lose weight and who started eating more halal food to lose weight, I've grown to value nutrition as part of my daily regimen.

Back on the topic, I'd like to stress that I find the IBON Foundation to be biased and misleading. Kilusang Mayo Uno (May One Movement) and its demand for #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba economics ignores the fundamentals of basic accounting. I don't want to deny the corrupt reveling in people's stolen taxes. However, as long as groups like IBON and Kilusang Mayo Uno continue to oppose badly needed reforms, I refuse to take them seriously! After all, they support the Filipino First Policy, which makes me think that people who support it deserve to have a PHP 500.00 or even less, noche buena!

Mrs. Roque may be using deliberate sarcasm and hyperbole to capture the audience's attention. After all, the noche buena may be one's biggest holiday financial killer. One can only look at the typical noche buena table and be amazed at the display of high-fat food and how festive it can be. A noche buena can often be accompanied by, "Bahala walay kwarta basta naa'y banda." In English, that means, "I don't care if we don't have money, as long as we have a band." It was my experience growing up in Cebu City, where I had neighbors who'd even hire a band for the Noche Buena. One could see an entire lechon served in the noche buena. Sadly, more often than not, the same lechon that wasn't consumed is thrown into the garbage can, even if it could still be eaten.

I couldn't say that's truly in Mrs. Roque's mind. For now, she's probably deliberately firing such statements to the public. Perhaps, the Filipino public still thinks that a noche buena should be festive with all the fattening foods and the musical band. These statements are probably what a lot of Filipinos need to hear, given their poor management habits! 

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The Irony the Philippines Starts the Christmas Season in September BUT Many Filipinos Love Last-Minute Christmas Shopping

  Uproxx As Christmas is just around the corner--I feel more stress coming in! It doesn't help when people try to use the late Andy Williams' "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" to try and skip the problem. It's already known that most Filipinos love to start Christmas in September . However, the irony is that Filipinos start Christmas early but do their Christmas shopping late. If they began the Christmas Season early, shouldn't they think about what to do before December strikes?  Two years ago, I wrote a post discussing last-minute Christmas shopping . Many Filipinos tend to do last-minute Christmas shopping. They had all of November (when the Christmas sale usually begins) but why do the Christmas shopping in December ? One of the things I blame is the one-day paycheck lifestyle (see here ). It can be observed that many Filipinos never learn to prioritize more important things . One can get their stars when they see their paychecks. However, the...
Read more

Christmas Toxic Positivity May Be Your Biggest Holiday Financial Killer

Christmas is just around the corner, isn't it? It's easy to tell me, "Stop being a Scrooge! Lighten up! It's Christmas!" Some people can't tell the difference between positivity and when positivity becomes toxic . If you think about it, toxic positivity is defined as: ...the belief that people should maintain a positive mindset no matter how dire or difficult a situation is. While there are benefits to being optimistic and engaging in positive thinking, toxic positivity rejects all difficult emotions in favor of a cheerful and often falsely positive façade . Every time I talk about Christmas foolishness (read here ), it's always pointed out that I love being negative. Honestly, there are times I'd rather be negative than to be overly positive. I always talk about mentioning the silly notions that my countrymen have like, "If the situation is bitter, just add sugar (read here )." In Cebuano, it's said, "Kung pait, butangi lang ug asu...
Read more

External Validations, like Masters and Doctorate, Mean NOTHING with a LOUSY Education System

I have the tendency to use my MBA as a license to avoid criticism. It's a real problem that some people use their credentials and/or academic achievements to try and win an argument. One incident I wrote about was Rep. Raoul Abellar Manuel flexing his "smarts" by using his cum laude degree to win the argument . It was all about how I would often say, "You're the moron because I have the MBA and you don't." There are times I felt like taking an MBA would make up for my "moral shortcomings" during high school when I was barely passing (and the passing rate was 80% , which is rather high), that I wasn't having honors, and that there was this saying, " Thou grades shalt determine thy future! " That, of course, has led to the reality where cheating is prevalent .  I wanted to make a review. I took my MBA in 2011 and graduated in 2014. I always felt that the MBA program was what I needed to become "invincible". It was also at ...
Read more

Is Christmas Toxic Positivity a Cause or an Effect of the Philippines' Lack of Progress?

Lessandra When it's Christmas, it's so easy to think of the song of the late Andy Williams, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". The music itself reeks of toxic positivity,  whether one likes it or not. It's a shame, really, because December 20 was also the anniversary of Asia's Titanic, the sinking of the Doña Paz ! We live in a society that somehow never learns from its mistakes, like a person who's stuck in gambling debt, is still hoping to get rich gambling . Despite all that, Christmas toxic positivity still abounds in the Philippines. We still have a lot of ongoing bad habits, such as starting Christmas in September and then doing last-minute Christmas shopping during the week of Christmas. That's why every time I drive on the road on Christmas, I tend to shout, "Isn't it any wonder why the Philippines never improves?" The term Noche Buena has evolved over time . For some, it's simply the Christmas dinner. However, so...
Read more

Can Anti-FDI Proponents Prove Their Claim That Economic Liberalization Will Just Benefit the Filipino Oligarchs?

The same old narration has been made over and over again . I'd dare say that the narration out the Facebook pages of the likes of Atty. Teddy Casiño, Atty. Neri Colmenares, Kabataan Partylist, League of Filipino Students, Migrante International, IBON Foundation, etc. are more or less the same. It's already a broken record based on the facts that they've been refuted. I've read the book From Third World to First . I guess Migrante International hates that book because Singapore is often associated with the execution of Flor Contemplacion, at least on their watch. What they're doing is nothing more than still hating Japan, Germany, and Italy because of the Second World War. I'm not surprised at another lie that's often repeated--economic liberalization (or 100% FDI shares ownership) will only  benefit the oligarchs . I guess it'll be easy to nail on me because I'm not a summa cum laude and Rep. Raoul Abellar Manuel is and he's a graduate of the Uni...
Read more