President Rodrigo Duterte defended the Php50-million cauldron for the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, saying it was made by a national artist.
At a briefing last night in Malacanang, Duterte said the high price was because they asked National Artist for Architecture Francisco “Bobby” Manosa to do it.
“You cannot estimate how much nalugi ka because it’s the rendition of the mind of the creator. Kung ‘yan singil niya sabihin niya ‘wag mo bilhin kung ayaw mo. ‘Yan ang presyo ko,” he said in a live telecast over the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Facebook page.
Earlier, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, who is also the chairman of the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc), defended that the cauldron’s design is a “work of art”.
The cauldron project has caused quite a stir from several quarters saying it was unreasonably priced.
Albay Representative Joey Salceda said the caudron’s price is ‘Imeldific’
“Yung P55 million pag tiningnan mo ‘yung cauldron mukhang resonable naman kaso ‘Imeldific’ yung dating, may grandiosity,” Salceda said in an interview with ABS-CBN News.
