Marcos birthday bash draws flak

MANILA, Philippines — The birthday bash for President Marcos last Friday that featured a performance by British pop rock band Duran Duran has drawn flak after a copy of the supposed invitation to the event circulated online with the presidential seal as letterhead.

The party, which took place during the actual day of Marcos’ 67th birthday, gained social media spotlight after vlogger Sass Rogando Sasot claimed that the private concert was funded by taxes and urged Filipinos to go to the Marriott Hotel in Pasay to watch the performance.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) confirmed that Marcos’ friends threw a party for him at a Pasay hotel and that the President was surprised that music was provided by Duran Duran. The agency also claimed that the party was held “at no cost to the government.”

However, the tirades against the birthday party persisted even after the PCO statement, fueled further by social media posts showing an alleged copy of the invitation sent to politicians and business executives.

The supposed invitation to guests bore the logo of the Office of the President. Other online posts contained the alleged instructions for the guests, including an appeal to skip the photos and videos during the dinner “to keep the vibe cozy and private.”

According to the posts, event organizers asked the guests to leave their phones in their cars or check them in at the reception desk, assuring them that there was a videographer who would document the event and a “secure roaming photo booth” where they could “snap a keepsake to take home.”

Critics described the birthday bash as insensitive to the plight of Filipinos.

Others noted that it went against the Code of Con duct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, which states that “public officials and employees shall not so licit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties.”