First Lady Liza Marcos at Rotary Club of Manila

The Rotary Club of Manila is making history today.

First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta Marcos (LAM) is RCM’s guest of honor and speaker during the 17th weekly membership meeting under president Reggie T. Yu, at the Makati Shangri-La Isabela ballroom, with expectedly a record crowd. RCM is Asia’s oldest and largest Rotary Club, more than 107 years old.

The 150-minute tête-à-tête with the Philippines’ most influential and most powerful woman has been billed by RCM as a historic “special luncheon of fellowship and a shared purpose.”

The last time a first lady spoke before the Rotary Club of Manila was in 1978, with Imelda Marcos, during RCM’s diamond anniversary and the launch of TOWER – The Outstanding Workers of the Republic – Awards.

This afternoon, First Lady Liza will open an exhibit of select artworks by student artists at the RCM meeting venue.

During the RCM open forum, Rotarians are agog to learn from the First Lady her views on issues and matters, including her perception of problems of Filipino families, the meaning of service per Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self” and what it takes to be a successful first lady, wife to the president and mother to three sons, all of whom are good-looking, well-mannered, well-educated and ready to take on the world when their turn at service comes.

A lawyer and law professor, LAM is the soft power of the Marcos presidency. She is warm, sincere, a natural no-arte people charmer.

Among the current activities of the Philippines’ first lawyer First Lady:

1. Health care “LAB for All” Project. Her signature “Lab for All” is a one-stop shop delivering free medical consultations, laboratory services, medicines, minor surgeries and legal assistance directly to underserved communities across the country.

2. Rice for All program. She regularly distributes free rice bags for the underserved like the poor, indigents, jeepney drivers and prisoners.

3. This October, she led the “Kulay, Kalinga, Katarungan at Kalayaan” at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa. The outreach program combined livelihood skill-building, painting activities for creative expression and medical checkups, alongside the “Bilis-Laya” program providing paralegal support to prepare inmates for reintegration.

4. Cultural preservation and urban revitalization.

• She launched the multi-phase “Pasig Bigyang Buhay Muli” (PBBM) project. The transformation of the 25-km Pasig River Esplanade into a vibrant community space with bike lanes and walkways earned the prestigious Asian Townscape Award by UN-Habitat.

• Heritage restoration: She has overseen the rehabilitation of historic and iconic presidential structures and government properties – including the Laperal, Teus and Goldenberg mansions, as well as the Centro de Turismo Intramuros – preserving them as functional, cultural and social spaces.

Of course, she restored the Philippine International Convention Center and the Coconut Palace, in time for the ASEAN Summit and meetings to be attended by world leaders led by Donald Trump.

• She promotes local artisans. Through the annual LIKHA (Likhaing Filipino) and HABI textile exhibitions, she champions traditional Filipino weavers and craftsmen, expanding public exhibition and retail spaces to provide local enterprises global exposure.

Tomorrow evening, Friday, President Marcos and the First Lady inaugurate the new Likhang Filipino Theater.

5. Diplomatic initiatives

The Philippines hosts the ASEAN Summit this November. LAM mobilized men (women), machinery and money to prepare all the venues in Manila, Cebu and elsewhere, doing ocular inspections, venue logistics and institutional upgrades as part of summit preparations. She wants to ensure the world leaders and ASEAN summiteers and their spouses have a safe and memorable time in the Philippines.

Key to the preparations is the rehab of PICC, at P2 billion, revitalizing the facility to its original pristine state – function rooms, reception hall and main hall – and bringing prominent displays of works by National Artists back into public view.

Amid the most challenging times for many world leaders this century, First Lady LAM is doing her herculean share of messaging that the Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. administration is a government that delivers – on many fronts, including food security (the Philippines has the highest electricity and food prices in Asia), digitalization (a personal advocacy of LAM as a tool of ultimate inclusion), addressing learning losses (Filipino kids scored their best ever in recent PISA science, math and reading tests and went up in rankings 18 rungs from being last or second to the last), social protection, health, energy security and improving infra and housing.

In the US, in a historic midterm rout, Donald Trump has just lost control of both the House and the Senate (51 Dems senators, up by six – opening the path for the inevitable, his impeachment). Trump’s net approval rating is -33. His approval rating on inflation is -61, the worst for any president.

In France, the once popular Emmanuel Macron faces mass unrest over high cost of living, inflation, deteriorating public services, with his approval rating at record low (28 percent) and budget deficits at record high (5.4 percent of GDP).

In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government faces rising political pressure, reduced parliamentary leverage and widespread public protests in Delhi, Mumbai and parts of Kerala led by student associations, youth movements and opposition politicians demanding the ouster of the election commissioner. In response, the Modi government heavily restricted movement in New Delhi, deploying tens of thousands of police and paramilitary personnel, closing dozens of metro stations, canceling transport lines, suspending mobile internet near Jantar Mantar and detaining thousands of protesters, journalists and student leaders.

Closer to home, Indonesia faces a deepening political and economic crisis driven by widespread public protests, soaring living costs, falling approval ratings for President Prabowo Subianto and market turmoil, says AI.

With First Lady LAM behind him, President Marcos Jr. faces with boldness and steadfastness the remaining two years of his presidency focused on building a nation “powered by innovation and anchored on love of country.”

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