Last night, Filipinos on microblogging sites like Twitter and Plurk and social networking sites such as Facebook were spreading the word about Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo’s remarks on TV Patrol World.
The solon was defending his mother, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, against widespread criticism over the expensive dinners at posh New York restaurants.
Unfortunately, sometimes when you open your mouth, you make things worse.
Now, we the Filipino people are being asked if we forgot that the President is not just an ordinary person and needs to keep her dignity. “Do you want your president to eat in a McDonald’s or some turo-turo?” Mikey Arroyo asked in last night’s TV Patrol World newscast.
No, because according to his logic, there’s more dignity for the President and her Cabinet and members of the Lower House to eat at a decent restaurant. “Decent” presumably translates to “like really, really expensive” because they decided to eat at the posh Le Cirque, which is touted as one of the world’s best restaurants and as a place to be seen for members of high society. Yup, a McDonald’s or a turo-turo it sure ain’t.
I found a video clip of Mikey Arroyo’s sound bites on YouTube. The video and audio aren’t in sync, though, but if you want to see the whole newscast, you can Google Pinoy Channel TV and look for Part 1 of the TV Patrol World August 18 clip. Mikey Arroyo’s segment is toward the end of that Part 1 clip.
Here’s the YouTube clip courtesy of pinaswatcher.
Come to think of it, I wonder how McDonald’s feels about being lumped together with “some turo-turo”?
Oh, and check out this link that Manuel L. Quezon III tweeted to The Presidential Wiener blog which shows different US presidents and famous politicians enjoying the time-honored tradition of being seen in public eating a hotdog.
Guess our president, majority of whose constituents are living in poverty and can’t even afford to eat regularly at McDonald’s, if at all, has more “dignity” than other world leaders.
[...] http://joeyalarilla.com/mikey-arroyo-video-clip-do-you-want-your-president-to-eat-in-a-mcdonalds-or... [...]
This is not even a question on how McDonalds would feel. This is a question of how, we ordinary Filipinos who eat at times when the budget permits at McDonalds… or how the turo-turo which has become part of our culture, would feel.
Mikey, one’s dignity is not measured by where you eat. If that is the way you look at things, then you are gravely mistaken. Or maybe, you need top eat in your neighborhood turo-turo…
These politicians… they are so funny. Come election tim, you see them hugging, kissing, and eating with the poor. Hypocrites!
estrada is the best example for turo turo
[...] Do our leaders expect too much entitlement? Are we (the people) expecting too much? Here’s Mikey Arroyo talking about the expectation the President shouldn’t eat at McDonald’s via Joey Alarilla: [...]
[...] to my office buddy Joey for sharing this with [...]
the more these people try to defend themselves, the deeper into trouble they get. kaya mike, SHUT UP!
‘Do you want your president to eat in a McDonald’s or some turo-turo?’ — ANSWER : YES!!!
[...] joeyalarilla.com [...]