A statement attributed to Trade Secretary Cristina Roque supposedly suggesting sardines as an alternative to ham for noche buena is going viral online. This is fake.
Results from cursory and keyword searches of the bogus quote revealed that it was circulated only by social media users, citing no credible sources. There is no official record of Roque or DTI issuing such a remark and no reputable news organization has reported on it either.
Published as early as Dec. 8 by an FB page, the fake graphic bore a photo of Roque holding a can of sardines, and a text that read:
“KUNG PWEDE NAMAN KAYO MAG SARDINAS SA NOCHE BUENA BAKIT PA KAYO MAG HA-HAM? KALABISAN NA YUN! – DTI SEC CRISTINA ROQUE
(If you can just have sardines for noche buena, why would you still have ham? That would be excessive! – DTI Sec. Cristna Roque)”
At least five FB posts carried various versions of the quote cards, leading netizens to criticize the Trade secretary, with some even challenging her to try preparing sardines for noche buena. While only one post on Dec. 8 indicated through hashtags that it was supposedly “satire news,” many social media users still believed Roque made such a remark.
A quick review of the official FB pages of DTI and Roque showed no post containing the “sardines for noche buena” statement attributed to them.
There are no sardines in the 2025 noche buena guide released by DTI in November, which Roque repeatedly cited when she made her now controversial “P500 noche buena” remark.
Among the holiday staples included in the guide are ham, fruit cocktail, all-purpose cream, nata de coco, kaong, keso de bola, cheese, mayonnaise, sandwich spread, pasta/spaghetti, elbow macaroni, spaghetti sauce and tomato sauce.
The photos of Roque in the fake quote card were misused to make it appear she recommended sardines for noche buena. A reverse image search traced them to the FB page Proud Bisaya Bai, originally published on Nov. 13, two weeks before Roque stated that P500 would be enough for noche buena of a family of three.
The images showed Roque leading a price inspection at a Cebu City supermarket on Nov. 13, following the implementation of the 60-day nationwide price freeze due to calamities that struck Central Visayas last month.
Similar pictures of Roque in front of a grocery shelf full of canned goods while also holding a can of sardines were published by the Philippine Information Agency – Region 7 on Nov. 14.
VERA Files has also debunked a quote card of Roque claiming she retracted and apologized for her P500 noche buena statement, which drew public backlash. (READ: FACT CHECK: DTI’s Roque did NOT apologize over ‘P500 noche buena’)
Posted by two FB users, including Bert Vibes (created on Nov. 2, 2018) and at least three pages, such as Philippine Savers & Investors Guide (Feb. 5, 2019) and Pinoy Celebrity News (June 21, 2017), the posts carrying the fraudulent graphic card have collectively garnered 22,783 reactions, 9,085 comments and 3,626 shares as of writing.
