Philippines’ Marcos Jnr draws flak for use of presidential helicopter to attend Coldplay concert

The traffic situation posed a security threat to the president, who attended the concert with his wife
But social media users criticised the use of taxpayer money by Marcos Jnr, with one Facebook user calling it ‘abuse of power’

The Philippines

Reuters

Published: 12:33pm, 21 Jan 2024

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Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr has drawn flak on social media for his use of a presidential helicopter to attend a concert by British rock band Coldplay in a province north of the capital, Manila.

The Philippine Arena, the world’s largest indoor arena, saw an influx of 40,000 concertgoers, resulting in “unforeseen traffic complications along the route”, the Presidential Security Group said in a statement.

“The Coldplay concert was awesome! Bravo Chris Martin!”, wrote First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos (left) in an Instagram post. Photo: Instagram

The traffic situation posed a security threat to Marcos Jnr, who attended the Friday night concert with his wife, prompting the use of the presidential chopper, it added.

But social media users criticised the use of taxpayer money by Marcos Jnr, the son and namesake of the late strongman president, whose rule ended nearly four decades ago in a historic “people power” revolution.

“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,” Facebook user James Patrick Aristorenas said in a post on Saturday.

“We paid for the use of the chopper, fuel and security, who knows even for the tickets for everyone,” Facebook user Arvine Concepcion said.