Kamanggagawa Party-list Rep. Elijah “Eli” San Fernando wants Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina Roque to put her money where her mouth is.

This, after Roque reportedly said a ₱500 budget was enough to purchase ham, macaroni salad, and spaghetti--fixtures of a traditional Filipino Noche Buena--"depending on how many people are eating".

“Ang pahayag na ito ay insulto sa bawat manggagawa at ordinaryong Pilipino. Totoo na hindi kailangang magarbo ang handaan. Pero ano bang simple at disenteng Noche Buena ang kayang bilhin ng ₱500 para sa isang pamilya?” San Fernando said in a statement Friday, Nov. 28.

(This statement is an insult to every worker and ordinary Filipino. It is true that the feast does not need to be extravagant. But what kind of simple and decent Noche Buena can ₱500 buy for a family?)

“Hindi siguro namamalengke ang DTI Secretary. Sa presyuhan ngayon, kape pa lang niya sa umaga, ubos na ang kalahati ng ₱500 (The DTI Secretary probably doesn’t do the market shopping. At today’s prices, just her morning coffee already consumes half of the ₱500)," noted the minority congressman.

San Fernando then threw down the gauntlet at Roque.

“Hinahamon ko mismo si Secretary Aldeguer-Roque: samahan niya ako sa palengke at patunayan niyang kaya ang Noche Buena sa halagang limang daan (I challenge Secretary Aldeguer-Roque herself: join me at the market and prove that Noche Buena can be done with only five hundred pesos)," he said.

At any rate, San Fernando said the Cabinet official's statement reflects “a dangerous disconnect” between the government and the lived realities of Filipino families struggling with rising prices.

He warned that remarks like these further erode public trust, especially at a time when families feel the brunt of high commodity prices, stagnant wages, and uncertainty brought about by the flood control projects corruption scandal.