Philippines President Marcos under fire for taking presidential helicopter to Coldplay concert

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has come under fire on social media after using the presidential helicopter to attend a Coldplay concert over the weekend. The president and his wife were spotted arriving at the Philippine Arena, north of the capital Manila, on a helicopter on Friday (Jan 19).

‘A potential threat to security’

Following the backlash, the head of Presidential Security Group (PSG), Brig Gen Jesus Nelson Morales, released a statement on Saturday (Jan 20) saying that there was an “unprecedented influx of 40,000 individuals eagerly attending a concert” which resulted in traffic complications.

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WATCH |Philippine President Marcos Junior slammed for using chopper to attend Coldplay concert

The traffic situation posed “a potential threat to the security of our president”, it added.

The PSG also went on to askthe people for theirunderstanding on the matter. "Continued understanding and support for these measures are crucial in maintaining the safety and well-being of our nation’s leadership," said the PSG.

Philippines president criticised

Marcos Jr and his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos were among thousands of fans who attended the concert on Friday at the Philippine Arena, the world’s largest indoor arena, located deep in the suburbs.

Images and videos of the first couple emerging from the helicopter drew flak from social media users who criticised the use of taxpayer money by Marcos, the son and namesake of the late strongman president whose rule ended nearly four decades ago following a historic “people power” revolution.

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In a column for the Philippine Star, Ana Marie Pamintuan wrote that for the older generations, the incident had revived memories of Marcos’ father and mother.

The late dictator Marcos Sr, who ruled the country for two decades wasknown for his extravagance. Marcos and his family have been accused of plundering billions of dollars during the period.

Activist Renato Reyes described the decision as “a grave insult to millions of Filipino commuters”. He added, “We are faced with a debilitating mass transport crisis that has caused terrible traffic and nightmare commutes for ordinary folks.”

While a Facebook user James Patrick Aristorenas said,“Using official resources, like the presidential chopper, for personal and non-official activities is generally considered an abuse of power or misuse of government resources."

Meanwhile, others pointed out how Marcos Jr’s mode of travel went against Coldplay’s wider efforts to make their showas low-carbon as possible.

How bad is the traffic in Philippines?

The criticism also came after a survey of 387 cities across 55 countries published on Friday showed that Metro Manila or the National Capital Region (NCR) topped the 2023 TomTom Traffic Index list of metro areas with the slowest travel time.

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This has been attributed to old infrastructure and an inadequate public transport system.

During the show, even Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martinjoked about the traffic in Manila and thanked the audience for making it. “We’ve seen some traffic. But I think you have the number one (traffic) in the world.”

He added, “Thank you for making the effort to come through all of that bullshit to be here.”

(With inputs from agencies)