No matter how hard Cesar Chavez tries to create the illusion that the government did not spend a single centavo for the 67th birthday bash of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. at the Manila Marriott on Sept. 13, 2024, the fact that official invitations for the event had the presidential seal meant it was vetted by the Palace.
How can the newly-minted press secretary now deny that Malacanang was not involved in this party of the year? It is pretty easy for Chavez to shrug off claims that Bongbong himself was kept in the dark about the grandiose affair. Press secretaries and diplomats are paid highly to lie for their governments. The Philippines is no exception.
However, on Sept. 16, Filipino workers condemned the expense for Bongbong’s birthday celebration while his government has been granting puny increases to the minimum wage. Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) secretary general Jerome Adonis said the minimum wage for Calabarzon ranges from P541 to P595 but the family living wage has been pegged at P1,131. In Central Visayas, the minimum wage is between P501 and P511 but the family living wage is P1,278. KMU has been battling for a P1,200 minimum wage nationwide. Adonis said for workers, Bongbong’s concert should have been a shivaree, better yet a Filipino version of the French charivari.
In the face of back-to-back disasters, Filipino politicians should do well stop this practice of expensive parties, or attending concerts in Germany while Filipinos drown as what Sara Zimmerman Duterte Carpio did on July 24, 2024 as Typhoon Carina battered the country. Taylor Swift is much more important than helping the victims of calamities. But then, Chavez and the PCO will claim that the celebration was planned in advance by the plutocrats and that the Palace didn’t pay for it. Tell that to the Marines.
If we were to believe that Marcos Jr. had nothing to do with the whole shebang, then Chavez should go after the masterminds of the party since they used the presidential seal for what is not an official Palace event. You can bet your annual salary that the persnickety kitchen Cabinet, including Chavez, knew about the “surprise” party, along with the social secretary, the protocol officer, the close-in presidential security, Bongbong’s family and even the maids in Malacanang.
Yet, reports now show that the Office of the President (OP) did send out invitations to the crème de la creme of Philippine society, the plutocrats who control the water business, the oligarchs in the electricity market, the chosen ones who dominate infrastructure projects and the usual Marcos Jr. gangmates from Quezon City, North Forbes Park, Marikina, Dasmarinas and Bonifacio Global City. The invitation showed the Marriott event would start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday the 13th at the Manila Ballroom. Attendees were asked to dress smart casual, with cocktails starting at 6:30 p.m. The invitation did not contain the night’s program and special guests.
To guarantee the secrecy of the affair, guests were requested to leave their cell phones and executive assistants outside the ballroom. Chavez’s turf, the Presidential Communication Office revealed that the party was a “surprise” organized by the President’s old pals. Bongbong supposedly did not know that the legendary UK band Duran Duran would be around to dish out the best hits of the 1980s. It was more bang for the buck compared to 1967 when the Beatles snubbed a children’s party in Malcanang and had to be hounded with a tax case and showered with punches before they could save their hide and fly en route to London.
Simon Le Bon and his Duran Duran bandmates are not dirt-cheap. Las Vegas Talent, a celebrity booking agency, said booking Duran Duran for a private event would cost Bongbong’s pals between $500,000 and $875,000 (P28.5 million to P49.9 million.) Others placed the price tag at $1 million and another P10 million for flying them in and flying them out, which would be anywhere from P67 million to P69 million. Duran Duran is actually a “suki” for Filipinos as the band performed in two sold-out concerts in Manila. The band is set for a US tour next month.
