Marcos to attend Charles III’s coronation in 11th trip as president
MANILA, Philippines (Update 2, 3:36 p.m.) — Malacañang announced Monday night that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Marcos will be attending the coronation of King Charles III in London on May 6.
The Palace said Marcos and his wife accepted the invitation to the coronation — the first since 1953 — at Westminster Abbey.
"Furthermore, the President and the First Lady have accepted the invitation of the Master of the Household, upon command of His Majesty, to a Reception to be given at Buckingham Palace in advance of the Coronation of Their Majesties The King and The Queen Consort," the Palace also said.
This will be Marcos' 11th trip since taking office as president on June 30, 2022. He has visited Singapore twice and made trips to Indonesia, the United States, Cambodia, Thailand, Belgium, China, Switzerland and Japan.
'Royal junket'
Renato Reyes, secretary-general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said Marcos should not proceed with his attendance to Charles' coronation, which he called a "royal junket" that "does not serve any national interest."
"Let Marcos use the Holy Week and his annual retreat to reflect if it is correct for them to spend millions for a ceremony that they can watch on TV," Reyes said in a series of tweets.
Reyes added that Malacañang should disclose how much will be spent for the trip, who will be included in the official entourage, and what the government will be spending for it.
"Let the people judge whether this trip is really worth it. Disclose the details of the royal junket," he said.
Prices of London hotels have surged by 60% year-on-year with rooms costing roughly P17,000, according to accomodation search website Trivago in a report by PA news agency.
The United Kingdom, like many parts of the world, is also in the middle of a cost of living crisis, with UK economic think tank Institute for Fiscal Studies noting that "the recent surge in inflation, driven by spectacular increases in energy prices, has driven sharp falls in household living standards, huge government intervention to try to mitigate it, and serious policy headaches."
Attendance at ASEAN Summit after
ABS-CBN News was first to report that Marcos has accepted the invitation to attend the coronation of Charles, quoting Ambassador to the United Kingdom Teodoro Locsin Jr.
"When I saw him in the wake of (former trade chief) Bobby Ongpin, he said: ‘Teddy Boy, I’m coming in but we have to leave at once because we have to catch the (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).’ He is going to be here," Locsin was quoted as saying.
Locsin was quoted further as saying that Charles III and Marcos know each other because they used to play polo together. Locsin denied this later Tuesday in a tweet, saying that Marcos does not play polo but "had special forces training possibly in the UK as well."
The ASEAN Summit will take place in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia from May 9 to 11.
Charles III will be crowned alongside Camilla, the Queen Consort, in a ceremony to be conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and witnessed by several world leaders and other prominent figures.
In a recent statement, Buckingham Palace said the coronation would "reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future, while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry." — Xave Gregorio
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