Malacañang expressed on Sunday its disgust over a tabloid report of an alleged lavish dinner of President Arroyo and her entourage in New York City last week, branding it as “grossly exaggerated.”

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde insisted that the President neither spent public funds for a fancy dinner at La Cirque restaurant in Manhattan nor partied all night during her recent visit to the United States.

Remonde said the President and her delegation had a “simplenight dinner” at the French restaurant upon the invitation of Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, adding the Chief Executive did not shoulder the alleged $20,000 dinner tab as reported by the New York Post.

Although he was sure there was no taxpayers’ money involved, Remonde said he was unaware how much Romualdez paid for the two tables occupied by the President’s party in La Cirque. He even encouraged Romualdez, nephew of former First Lady Imelda Marcos, to explain the matter to the public.

Remonde. However, stopped short of suing the US tabloid for its report, saying all Malacañang could do is air its side and explain the matter to the public.

President Arroyo’s fancy dinner at La Cirque landed in the gossip section of the New York Post last August 7, triggering protests from some local opposition groups due to alleged impropriety as the country was in dire financial straits. The dinner was reportedly held last August 2, or the 41st wedding anniversary of the First Couple.

“That report is grossly exaggerated because in the first place, not a single centavo of taxpayer's money have been used or spent on that because actually it was Congressman Martin Romualdez who invited us in the dinner,” Remonde said.

"It was not an ostentatious or extraordinary dinner. It was not really a party. It was just dinner,” he said.

Remonde said the New York Post gossip article on the President was part of the “ongoing black propaganda” to spur public’s anger on the President.

He lashed back at militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), one of the first opposition groups that protested the President’s fancy New York banquet, for throwing baseless accusations against the administration.

“This is a fruit of a poison tree coming as it does from Bayan, which is a Communist front organization dedicated to overthrow a democratic government, that will never cease to spread agitation or propaganda against any administration for as long as that administration is not headed by a Communist president,” he said.

Asked if the Palace has plans to file a complaint against New York Post, Remonde said: “None. We cannot quarrel with people who hold the pen or people who are behind the microphone except to answer, to explain.”

“The New York Post is a tabloid in New York. The article came out in its gossip section. The problem with us is we tend to make a big story out of gossip. Anyway, that’s why we have to explain and that's why I am explaining that that is grossly exaggerated,” he added.

Remonde explained that Romualdez offered a dinner at his friend’s La Cirque restaurant when the President and her party were all hungry shortly after arriving in the Big Apple from a three-day visit in Washington DC.

The Palace official went on to clarify that the New York restaurant was not closed down just for the President and her entourage to have their dinner.

“The truth of the matter is when we went there, there were many Filipinos already dining in the restaurant,” he said, adding some of the Filipinos managed to get their pictures taken with the visiting President.

He also belied reports that the presidential delegation had a lavish menu, saying it was a “set" with soup, salad, main course and dessert, and “not really extraordinary."

He said they merely had a set of soup, salad, main course of fish or meat, dessert, and drinks, at the Manhattan restaurant. Remonde said he had a fish course and a diet cola. 

“There was no overflowing champagne or other fancy food items,” he said.

The tabloid article claiming the President splurged on champagne and red wine during the New York dinner was “very unfair” and “very foul,” Remonde said.

During her four-day stay in New York City, the President and her party stayed at the ritzy Waldorf Astoria hotel, which was a few blocks away from La Cirque.

Remonde said they are willing to present a full accounting of the President’s travel expenses in the US. He said he will ask Deputy Executive Secretary for Finance Ching Vargas to release the President’s recent financial statement.

Last week, President Arroyo scrapped her scheduled engagements in Chicago and Guam supposedly to catch up with the wake of former President Corazon Aquino in Manila.

The President, who came from Washington DC where she met US President Barack Obama, instead stayed longer in New York City and had a brief stopover in San Francisco, California before heading back home.

Meanwhile, a member of the House of Representatives on Sunday aired his observation that Malacanang’s claim that it never spent a single cent for a $20,000 New York dinner last week will not stop President Arroyo’s critics in exploiting the media attention they have been getting in assailing the Chief Executive and her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said that there is nothing wrong with Filipinos observing hospitality in the US by buying even security escorts assigned by the US State Department dinner at the posh French restaurant, Le Cirque.

The Arroyo government said neither the President nor her husband spent for the lavish dinner during her recent trip to the US on invitation of President Barack Obama. It was in this trip that the First couple also celebrated their wedding anniversary.

Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, who has become almost a regular fixture in Mrs. Arroyo’s trips abroad, said he paid for the dinner that was attended by members of the the presidential entourage.

It is believed that Quezon City Rep. Annie Susano shared in the expenses.

Suarez said the restaurant bill costing P1 million is reasonable considering that there were many of them to share dinner with the First Couple.

“The food is good but the place is not fashionable. With our numbers, mahina ang $20,000,” Suarez told reporters in text messages he sent yesterday, adding “dahil hospitable tayong mga Pilipino, pinakain ang lahat at maging ang security naka-assign kay presidente from the US State Department. I don’t see anything wrong.”

Suarez said he had expected Mrs. Arroyo’s critics “to create an issue out of nothing.” stressing that they are after media mileage.

Despite Malacanang’s disclaimer that it footed the bill for the P1-million dinner, leftist groups have continued to demand an explanation from government.

As this developed, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, head of the United Opposition, chided Mrs. Arroyo for spending “P960,000 for dinner and expensive wine at a time of economic difficulty.”