Bayan slams Marcos’ rumored Singapore trip to see racing event

Bayan Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr. on Sunday slammed President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., over his rumored trip back to Singapore to watch an international racing event.

It was the Philippine Daily Inquirer that reported on Sunday, citing a “Malacañang source,” that Marcos flew to Singapore on Saturday afternoon for a two-day visit to watch the F1 Grand Prix.

This event was held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit from September 30 to October 2.

“The source told the Inquirer that Marcos would spend the weekend in Singapore and return to Manila on Monday,” the Inquirer report said.

Malacañang has not commented on the issue.

GMA News Online asked the Palace several times about the alleged trip, but they have yet to respond as of this posting.

For his part, Reyes questioned the alleged trip, saying it was “insensitive, unnecessary and irresponsible” of the President, considering that the Philippines was in the midst of an economic crisis.

“We are in the middle of an economic crisis where inflation will again reach record highs, public debt has breached P13 trillion, and millions of Filipinos are reeling from the effects of typhoon Karding," he said in a statement.

"So why does the President think it’s okay to take a private jet to Singapore to watch the return of the F1 Grand Prix? How much are the Filipino taxpayers paying for this trip?”

Marcos was in Singapore from September 6 to 7 for a state visit, during which he held separate meetings with Singaporean President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong regarding bilateral relations and other matters.

Reyes said that Marcos' "jet-setting lifestyle" was "incompatible" with the Office of the President.

“We are approaching the first 100 days in office of Marcos and it has been one party after another since he returned to Malacanang. The jet-setting lifestyle is incompatible with the Office of the President. The people demand a concrete response to the economic crisis, not a partying president,” Reyes said.

GMA News Online also sought comment from Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles about Reyes' statement, but neither she nor her office had responded as of this posting. — DVM, GMA News