Palace: ‘Wrong narrative’ fueled backlash vs Marcos birthday serenade

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Tuesday said the backlash against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. over a viral video showing him singing during a post-birthday celebration for first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos was understandable but maintained that it was fueled by a “wrong narrative.”

In the video, Marcos was seen serenading his wife with Basil Valdez’s “You” and The Beatles’ “And I Love Her” during her birthday celebration at their home on Aug. 26.

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Netizens, however, criticized the timing of the celebration as Metro Manila and other provinces grappled with severe flooding caused by heavy rains.

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Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said there was nothing wrong with the celebration, noting that the president continued to monitor the country’s situation.

“To those who were disappointed because they felt that it was—what do you call that—insensitive, we cannot blame them because that was the narrative that reached them,” she said.

“We understand you because a different story was portrayed. But we also hope that you can see that throughout the entire week, even yesterday, when there were no classes and it was a holiday, the president remained focused,” she added.

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According to Castro, Marcos did not neglect his duties to provide for the needs of Filipinos, particularly those affected by the flooding.

The Palace official also clarified that the celebration did not take place at the height of the heavy rains, contrary to what had been circulating online.

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Based on the state weather bureau’s forecast for the evening of Aug. 26, the southwest monsoon was expected to bring cloudy skies with scattered rains over Luzon and Western Visayas.

A yellow rainfall warning was raised over Zambales, where 50 to 100 millimeters of rain was forecast. /mcm