MANILA, Philippines ? Representative Teodoro Casino of Bayan Muna party list posed this question to Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, who defended the P1-million dinner at the posh Le Cirque restaurant in New York City by saying that the President can?t be expected to eat in a hotdog stand.

?And why not? Is the President so extraordinary that she can?t do what most Pinoys do in New York?? Casino said in a text message.

Casino also criticized Remonde for blaming the group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) for creating ?agitation propaganda to anger the people.?

?The President?s apologists led by him (Remonde) are the ones agitating our people by dismissing the dinner at such a posh restaurant as just an ordinary set meal,? the congressman said.

In a separate statement, Bayan said Malacanang should just stick to the issue instead of pointing the blame on them for creating an issue over the dinner.

?Bayan was not the original source of the story but the New York Post. It is therefore ridiculous to say that the issue of Mrs. Arroyo?s dinner at Le Cirque restaurant in New York is part of ?agitation-propaganda? against the Arroyo government. Remonde has gone on to accuse Bayan of being a ?communist front? that seeks to overthrow the government,? said the group?s secretary general Renato Reyes Jr.

?No, Secretary Remonde, we didn?t start the fire, but you are surely fanning the flames,? Reyes added.

Even if it the dinner was courtesy of Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez, Reyes said it does not make the incident ?less revolting.?

?The perception remains that Philippine public officials are living it up while the rest of the Filipinos wallow in poverty,? he said.

Remonde had branded the report as ?grossly exaggerated? and insisted that the dinner was a ?simple? one. Interviewed on radio, he said that the President cannot be expected to eat in a hotdog stand.

During the dinner on August 2, Remonde said the Malacanang group occupied two tables and ordered a set menu consisting of soup, salad, main dish, drinks, and coffee and tea.

The article of Richard Johnson in the New York Post section of ?Eat and Drink? read:

?The economic downturn hasn?t persuaded everyone to pinch pennies. Philippines President Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was at Le Cirque the other night with a large entourage enjoying the good life, even though the former comptroller of her country?s armed services, Carlos Garcia, was found guilty earlier this year of perjury and two of his sons were arrested in the US on bulk cash-smuggling charges. Macapagal-Arroyo ordered several bottles of very expensive wine, pushing the dinner tab up to $20,000.?