Gabriela: Palace catering area ‘waste of people’s money’

Rep. Arlene Brosas of the Gabriela Women’s party-list

MANILA, Philippines — Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Arlene Brosas on Sunday slammed as “insensitive and a waste of taxpayer money” the Marcoses’ construction of a catering area for their parties at Malacañang amid the peso slump and economic difficulties Filipinos are currently facing.

Brosas was referring to first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos’ Sept. 15 Facebook post wherein she shared photos of her leading the groundbreaking rites for a new catering area at the Palace.

“While the Marcos family is busy building a new catering area for their extravagant parties using the people’s taxes, the Philippine peso recently hit an all-time low, and commuters bear the brunt of public transport fare increases,” Brosas pointed out.

She lamented that the government had no budget for cash aid to address severe hunger but had allocations for “lavish luncheons and birthday parties.” Brosas added that there was not enough budget for the construction of new schools but there was money for building a catering area.

“This is peak insensitive and a waste of people’s money,” she said.

Days ahead of the commemoration of the declaration of martial law, the Gabriela representative urged the public to resist attempts to glorify the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s atrocities, plunder, and corruption.

—WITH A REPORT FROM JEROME ANING

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