When the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced that ₱500 is “enough” for a family to celebrate Noche Buena, it did more than miscalculate a holiday budget—it exposed how easily the government expects Filipinos to shrink their expectations. The message came wrapped like a holiday gift. Inside was a familiar narrative that the administration had long pushed: this is all you get, and you should be grateful.
To prove their point, they presented a list of “affordable” Noche Buena sets—pasta and sauce, ham and pandesal, carefully paired to make ₱500 look reasonable. Yet no matter how neatly these lists are arranged, they ignore the reality that every peso today is stretched painfully thin. They fail to account for the additional costs like transportation, drinks, or other ingredients—as if a holiday meal exists in a vacuum, untouched by inflation.
What exactly is DTI trying to prove with this ₱500 price guide? Yes, they managed to form a list. But what happens after that single meal? As much as they claim to “help,” the message is clear: Filipinos should simply settle for less for an occasion that only happens once a year, and inflation can be ignored through forced positivity and “wise” budgeting.
This narrative is not new. It reflects an old ideology disguised as practicality, conditioning people to accept the crumbs of the government just because “puwede na ‘yan.” Over time, this thinking normalizes struggle. It manipulates the public, shifting attention away from failed systems and places the burden on ordinary people to adjust endlessly.
Even so, DTI Chief Cristina Roque insists that the ₱500 budget is sufficient for a family of four, pointing to their variety of lists and even claiming that there’s “extra money” to spare. However those prices are not set in stone. At most wet markets, a kilo of ham alone already costs ₱341.53—more than half the proposed budget—and prices change weekly, even small shifts in supply, demand or weather can stretch ₱500 even further. By Christmas eve, that amount will likely fall short to cover the basic ingredients for a meal, revealing how detached the claim is from the realities faced by struggling households.
So when I first heard the ₱500 claim, my immediate reaction was simple just like everyone: Is that a joke? Because after all the hardships of the last year, that meal is more than a tradition—it is a small reward for surviving, a reminder that even in difficult times, we can hope for a better year ahead.
Stretching ₱500 may sound doable on paper. But in our family, the true cost of a memorable Noche Buena goes far beyond the price of ingredients. Our warmth comes from the meals my grandmother and mother lovingly prepare on the table, because it is their food and the bond shared that makes Christmas feel extra merry.
This is why the narrative matters. When the government officials tell us that “less is enough,” it sends the message that we should stop expecting more. Silencing our dissatisfaction and forcing us to stop dreaming of anything better.
If the government truly cares about helping Filipino families and households, it must stop normalizing inadequate budgets and start addressing the lapses they have neglected which fuel the hike of inflation rate. It should consistently strengthen and support the agricultural sector, especially the farmers, by investing in the tools, infrastructure and policies that will help them thrive.
By addressing the root causes such as the agriculture’s weak production systems, limited post-harvest facilities, and lack of financial support, then local output can grow, making us less dependent on imports and resilient to global price shocks. But this can only happen if public funds are used responsibly, transparently, and strictly for where it is allocated, not for personal interests or political projects but for long-term solutions like flood mitigation and climate-resilient infrastructure that protect farms from typhoon-driven losses.
Real relief will only come when the government confronts inflation at its roots and builds systems that allow families to live with dignity—not just survive. Until then, no ₱500 list, press briefing, and forced optimism will ever be enough.
