Marcos surprises Filipinos in Singapore mall

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos over the weekend surprised Filipinos at the Lucky Plaza mall, a popular hub for overseas workers during their rest day, as part of his visit to Singapore.

A 28-minute video uploaded on Marcos’s Facebook account showed the President walking around the area and waving to the Filipino community in the area, accompanied by First Lady Marie Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos.

Marcos arrived in Singapore on Wednesday, September 13, for the 10th Asian Conference and to attend the finals of the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix 2023. His attendance at the race in 2022 was criticized by the public, but the President said this was the best way to drum up business.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that Singapore was among the top sources of equity capital placements in Philippine markets in June, along with Japan and the United States.

Net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, however, stood at a five-month low of $484 million, down from $487 million in May and $503 million in June 2022. Year-to-date net inflows were 3.9 billion, down 20.4% from $4.9 billion in 2022.

Marcos is due to be back in the Philippines past midnight on Monday. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA Integrated News