Arroyo's 3rd US dinner wasn’t lavish, lawmaker claims

On the heels of a public uproar over the dinners President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her entourage had in their recent United States trip, a lawmaker on Tuesday denied that another dinner they had in New York was lavish. In an interview with broadcast journalist Arnold Clavio on GMA’s Unang Hirit, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said he does not know who paid for the dinner at the upscale French restaurant Bouley, and only said: "Hindi naman maluho yung lugar (The place was not expensive at all)." Suarez earlier admitted that he paid for the $15,000 dinner that Mrs. Arroyo and her party had at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse in Washington DC after Mrs. Arroyo met with US President Barack Obama. The news about the Washington dinner came out only days after the public learned about the supposed $20,000 dinner the presidential delegation had at Le Cirque restaurant in New York. [See: Before NY, Arroyo entourage dined in Washington for $15k]

Amid the heat of public backlash over the two dinners – which Malacañang had strongly denied were lavish – it was learned on Monday that Mrs. Arroyo and her party also dined at Bouley while they were in New York. Presidential deputy spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo confirmed that "this is just one of the dinners or lunches the President and her delegates had during the trip." Fajardo, however, said she could not answer how much was spent for the meals because she was not part of the delegation. "If it’s an expensive restaurant, I cannot verify that." GMA News checked Bouley’s menu, which revealed that a set menu costs $150 (roughly P7,200) per head while a set menu with wine costs $245 (roughly P11,800) per head. In Tuesday’s interview, Suarez said only "a small group" attended the dinner, as he fended off rumors that the entourage occupied five tables with eight seats each. Asked whether the entourage dined at restaurants other than Le Cirque, Bobby Van’s, and Bouley, Suarez replied: "Let me think, wala na akong matandaan (I can’t remember anything)." On Monday, House Speaker Prospero Nograles likewise said that the 28 lawmakers who went on the trip must shoulder the costs if Malacañang asks them to. [See: Lawmakers on US junket with Arroyo will pay if billed] Nograles said the amount would depend on how much the US government and Malacañang each paid as their share even as the Speaker said that the host country usually shoulders the basic expenses of visiting dignitaries. Nograles was initially coy about whether the congressmen's contributions would come from their P1-million annual travel allowance, but he said at the end that the lawmakers' payment should come from their own pockets. - GMANews.TV