Philippines’ Marcos Jnr shrugs off backlash over use of official helicopter for ‘unmissable’ Coldplay concert

The president, who attended the gig with the first lady, was unperturbed by backlash over his use of the official helicopter to go to the ‘unmissable’ concert

Critics called the president’s helicopter use a ‘grave insult to millions of Filipino commuters’ who navigate the city’s notoriously congested streets

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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 Coldplay concert in a province north of the capital, Manila. Critics have accused the president of blowing tax money on his chopper trip. Photo: X/@@pistonph

Published: 5:31pm, 23 Jan 2024Updated: 7:02pm, 23 Jan 2024

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr on Tuesday shrugged off backlash for using a government helicopter to attend a Coldplay concert near Manila, describing the experience as “unmissable”.

“Perhaps by now, you know that I am really a music lover. I have been for a long time,” Marcos Jnr said.

He said he “studied music for many years” and to have somebody like Coldplay was “unmissable”.

Marcos Jnr never finished college, but has a special diploma from Oxford University. He also claims to have a master’s degree in business administration from the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, but admitted in 2015 he never finished his dissertation.

Marcos Jnr and First Lady Liza-Araneta at the concert. Photo: Instagram/Liza Araneta-Marcos

The president, who watched the British rock band’s gig with First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos in Bulacan last Friday, also raved about the event: “By the way, it was fantastic. It was great.”

“You can ask anybody who attended the concert. It’s different from the previous concerts we used to attend,” state media PNA quoted him as saying.