Former National Treasurer Leonor Briones Tuesday denounced as ?scandalous and immoral? the way some congresswomen and female VIP guests dressed up as though to compete with celebrities for public adulation?in a country where a third of the population live below the poverty line.

?It was a huge fashion event. But does it reflect the true state of the nation? Para tayong nasa ibang planeta (it was though we were on another planet),? Briones said in a forum.

?Many of the ladies there were thinking of Lucy and Lani. Ayaw nila magpatalbog (They didn?t want to be upstaged). The disconnect was scandalous and immoral,? Briones said.

She was referring to Leyte Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez and Cavite Rep. Lani Revilla, show biz celebrities who are among the neophyte lawmakers in the 15th Congress.

Briones headed the Bureau of Treasury during the Estrada administration. She currently teaches at the National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

Briones said 33 percent of the population, or roughly 27 million Filipinos, are now considered ?poor? or living on incomes below P6,300 a month for a family of five.

This translates to P42 per person a day, or P210 a day or P75,600 a year per family of that size, she explained.

While Mr. Aquino?s SONA had a surfeit of red carpet moments, the speech was lacking in terms of concrete programs that would address poverty in the country, Briones noted.

She said she would have also wanted to hear the President stating his policies on climate change mitigation and land reform, or supporting the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill to promote transparency in government.