President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — “Welcome to Hokkaido,” President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said in jest after his press briefing in Noveleta, Cavite, on Monday.
The joke parodied speculations that Marcos was in Japan while Severe Tropical Storm Paeng (international name: Nalgae) was battering the country over the weekend.
Citizens were asking about the President’s whereabouts as he virtually presided over a situational briefing.
Malacañang had already denied that the president was in Japan. But it did not specify Marcos’ whereabouts.
The hashtag NasaanAngPangulo which translates to “Where is the president?” trended on Twitter on Sunday afternoon.
On Monday, Marcos went to Noveleta, Cavite, to distribute relief goods to residents affected by the tropical cyclone.
He likewise conducted an aerial inspection of the ravaged areas.
To date, the Paeng death toll is at 98.
Around 1.9 million people were also affected by Paeng’s devastation.