President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos dance during a lull moment as they wait for Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of Qatar at the reception hall of the Malacañan Palace on Monday, April 22, 2024. The first couple just celebrated their 31st anniversary. | PHOTO: KJ ROSALES/PPA POOL
MANILA, Philippines — First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos couldn’t help but notice President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s sunburned skin as he made rounds in El-Niño-hit communities for aid distribution.
The chief executive shared this lighthearted moment with his wife in a speech during the delivery of El-Niño package assistance in Iligan City on Thursday.
But Marcos said he simply explained to his wife that it’s the real color of Ilocanos.
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“Napansin ng aking maybahay, nagka-sunburn na raw ako sa kakabigay ng tulong. Pero wala tayong magagawa, ito talaga ang kulay ng mga Ilokano. Sanay mabilad sa araw lalo na kung para ito ay magsilbi sa taong bayan, para sa inyo,” he said.
(My wife noticed that I was already sunburned from distributing aid. But we can’t do anything, this is really the color of the Ilocano people. We’re used to being exposed to the sun so we can serve the people.)
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Marcos also said that even if he could have easily tasked his deputies to distribute the aid, he chose to attend to personally see the situation on the ground.
“Kung gagawin ko iyon, hindi ko kayo makakasalamuha. Hindi ko makikita ang inyong tunay na kalagayan. Hindi ko maririnig ang inyong hinaing,” said Marcos.
(If I do that, I will not be able to be with you. I would not see your condition. I would not hear your concerns.)
Marcos has been distributing aid to various localities nationwide affected by severe drought due to the El Niño phenomenon.
The government’s latest data indicated that El Niño’s damage to agriculture has reached more than P6 billion.