Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

In Paeng-hit Cavite, Marcos jokes: ‘Welcome to Hokkaido’

Bea Cupin

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In Paeng-hit Cavite, Marcos jokes: ‘Welcome to Hokkaido’

CONFERENCE CALL. President Ferdinand Marcos presides over a meeting of disaster risk management officials via Zoom on October 30, 2022.

Screenshot from RTVM

The Palace is still quiet on questions about the President’s whereabouts during Severe Tropical Storm Paeng, but the President pokes fun at the elephant in the room during a visit to a typhoon-hit town

It was a simple question to answer: Where was the President?

As Severe Tropical Storm Paeng (Nalgae) battered the Philippines with floods that damaged newly-planted crops and claimed the lives of nearly 100 people, the familiar phrase #NasaanAngPangulo trended on Twitter.

But a simple question that had lingered over the weekend didn’t get simple answers. Or any answers at all.

Person, Human, Hand

The Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) shut down rumors that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was in Japan, but did not respond to further questions about his exact whereabouts. In the past, Palace officials had declined to disclose the President’s exact location, citing security concerns.

Over the weekend, Marcos joined the National Disaster Risk Reduction Council meetings only virtually. NDRRMC meetings – with top Cabinet officials and their deputies in attendance – are typically held at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Online, screenshots from the President’s virtual participation and his background – a room with family photos, a kitchen sink, and a small toaster – went viral, with Twitter users analyzing elements of the room. Online sleuths went as far as analyzing the electric sockets behind Marcos, implying that he could be overseas as a strong storm hit the country. (News flash: Those electric sockets are available in many households in the Philippines.)

The President’s Zoom background was crystal clear in the beginning of the NDRRMC but was later blurred – via Zoom (meaning, he or his team did it) – towards the end of the meeting.

The entire weekend, inquiries on the President’s exact whereabouts were unanswered.

Marcos himself did not answer the question on Monday, October 31, during a visit to Paeng-hit Noveleta in Cavite two days after the storm first made landfall in the Philippines.

But at the tail-end of a very quick question-and-answer with the media, the President seemed to address the elephant in the room, speaking to the mic unprompted: “Welcome to Hokkaido.”

Media present at the San Jose barangay hall in Noveleta tried to get a clearer statement from the President, but an amused Marcos waved off followup questions as he stepped out to a Caviteño crowd eager to see the President and to get much-needed relief goods.

Where was the President? Not in Japan, according to the Palace. Welcome to Hokkaido, he joked to himself and the media.

In Paeng-hit Cavite, Marcos jokes: ‘Welcome to Hokkaido’

On Sunday, October 30, Laoag foodie staple Dawang’s Eatery posted photos of its staff with Marcos. The President was joined by his son Vinny and his nephew, Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Manotoc. Rappler, however, could not verify independently when exactly the photos were taken.

Palace officials had earlier said a visit to his home province was among Marcos’ Undas plans. – Rappler.com 

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Bea Cupin

Bea is a senior multimedia reporter who covers national politics. She's been a journalist since 2011 and has written about Congress, the national police, and the Liberal Party for Rappler.