The Philippine Online Chronicles

Reports that a government dinner at high-class restaurant Le Cirque in New York raked a $20,000 bill was overplayed, said Press Secretary Cerge Remonde.

“The report was grossly exaggerated, really exaggerated,” said Remonde on Radyo ng Bayan. “What we had in New York was a simple, late night dinner because it was already late at night when we arrived there from Washington DC and, of course, we were all hungry.”

“There was no truth to the report that many different types of champagne and fancy food items were ordered,” he added.

News of the dinner first came out in the New York Post, where the the dinner tab was said to be at $20,000 or P960,000.

Remonde did not disclose how much the Le Cirque dinner actually was, but mentioned that “It was Congressman Martin Romualdez who invited the First Couple to dinner at Le Cirque in New York.”

“As to how much the dinner costs, Malacañang does not know as it was the host who chose the menu and picked up the tab.”

Romualdez has confirmed Rermonde's statement about hosting the dinner, but did not mention how much the dinner was worth.