President GMA's 1M NY Dinner

By now, you are already aware that President Arroyo and his entourage spent close to USD20,000 or around PHP1,000,000 over a New York dinner during her stay in the US last week.

Why the fuss over that dinner?

For one, although I haven't tried it yet, I am sure that the amount is just normal for the "Who's Who" in that area of the world. And GMA is a president for effin's sake. The Philippines may just be a developing world but it doesn't mean you should let the president eat dinner at a hotdog stand, or at a nearest McDo. She is, regardless of the GDP of our country, a dignitary in a foreign land. And when you're in Rome, you do what the Romans do. In New York, public figures don't just dine in McDo.

Also, the spokesperson said it was actually a Congressman (whose net worth is around half a billion) who paid the tab -- whether the money is from our taxes or not is another matter.

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On another matter: The distance from my residence to my office according to Wikimapia.org, is 928 m or 3 044 ft. And I take another route going back home, and its distance is 1.2 km.