Le Cirque manager: Report on lavish dinner far from truth

“It’s a lie. It’s far from the truth." This was what an executive of Le Cirque restaurant said of the reported lavish dinner President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her entourage had at the upscale restaurant in New York during the first week of August. GMA's Weekend Report on Saturday said that Le Cirque manager Mario Wainer made the denial in an interview with Filipino-American newspaper The Filipino Reporter. Wainer, who declined giving the exact amount of the controversial dinner, also stated: “We do not involve ourselves in politics." The report said that New York consul general Cecilia Rebong sent a letter dated August 14 to Press Secretary Cerge Remonde and furnished a copy of the weekly newspaper which contained the article on the interview. A check of The Filipino Reporter’s online edition gave zero search results for the article.

It was unclear whether Leyte Rep. Martin Ferdinand Romualdez or his brother Daniel, a well-established architect in New York, settled the dinner tab which US tabloid New York Post pegged at $20,000 (roughly P960,000). [See: Arroyo dined lavishly in US before attending Cory's wake] After New York Post first reported the incident on August 7, a blog on the Washington Post last Wednesday reported that Mrs. Arroyo and her entourage also racked a $15,000 dinner bill at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse in Washington D.C. after President Arroyo met with US President Barack Obama. [See: Before NY, Arroyo entourage dined in Washington for $15k] Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez admitted he paid for the bill and even detailed that $11,000 was spent on food, beverages, and wines, while the rest was spent on tax charges and tips. The dinners caused an uproar in the Philippines and even prompted opposition lawmakers to seek investigations by the Office of the Ombudsman and the House of Representatives. Last Wednesday, Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello filed a complaint letter before the Ombudsman and asked for an inquiry into the matter. Bello said Mrs. Arroyo could have violated Section 4h of the Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. The provision states that "public officials and employees and their families shall lead modest lives appropriate to their positions and income. They shall not indulge in extravagant or ostentatious display of wealth in any form." Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza also filed a resolution last Thursday asking the House committee on good government to investigate the Le Cirque dinner, saying it raises serious issues of ethics, accountability, and good governance. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV