By Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law
We decry the gross insensitivity of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for throwing a lavish celebration of his 67th birthday when thousands of Filipinos are still reeling from the devastating effects of Typhoon Carina. Marcos Jr. is still the same spoiled rich kid who wantonly spent his family’s ill-gotten wealth rubbing elbows with the rich and famous.
His birthday extravaganza at a five-star hotel last Sept. 13 would have been a hush-hush affair, if a pro-Duterte vlogger had not written about it. The secrecy was obviously due to the fact that British rock group Duran Duran, said to be a favorite of Marcos Jr., was flown in especially for the birthday extravaganza.
The revelation prompted his propagandists to hurriedly issue a highly defensive press release, saying the birthday bash was a “surprise” from Marcos Jr.’s friends and that Duran Duran performed “at no cost to the government.”
Website bilyonaryo.com revealed, however, that the invitations that were sent bore the seal of the Office of the President, meaning the birthday extravaganza had the stamp of “officialdom” written all over it. Malacañang obviously spent official money to enable Marcos Jr. to hobnob with the invitees who reportedly included the country’s top politicians and billionaires.
Did confidential funds bankroll this party? And just how much did the profligate President shell out for his grand bash? Booking Duran Duran for a private party alone reportedly costs anywhere from P30 million to P50 million.
This is not the first time Marcos Jr. callously embarked on activities for personal leisure in the face of the people’s widespread suffering. In October 2022, he and members of his family spent a weekend in Singapore to watch the Formula One Grand Prix racing event and stayed at a luxury hotel. This, right after Typhoon Karding had slammed the country, leaving a wide swath of destruction. In January 2024, he and his family used the presidential helicopter just to watch Coldplay, another British rock band, perform at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
Disgusting memories of the pretentiously opulent parties held in Malacañang before the Marcoses’ ouster from power keep coming back with every display of Marcos Jr.’s profligacy, which is fast approaching saturation point.
Not to be forgotten are the more than $5 billion ill-gotten wealth yet to be recovered from the Marcoses, as well as their P203 billion estate tax which have yet to be paid.
Time will come when the Filipino people will overwhelmingly reject Marcos Jr. the way they did his dictator-father and Imeldific mother.