Malacanang confirmed on Friday that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will attend the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend.
During a press briefing in Singapore, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said while Marcos will be present, his attendance will be mainly for work.
“Transactions are better at face-to-face meetings through such events,” said Castro in Filipino, reiterating her earlier statement that it is important for government officials to meet outside of conferences.
“They won't just be watching. There will be a lot more discussion,” she added.
Castro earlier said that if Marcos attends, “it should be okay if it were held on a Sunday.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) earlier confirmed that Marcos was invited by Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to attend the Formula 1 event for “informal engagements” with government officials and business leaders.
During his talk at the 24th Forbes Global CEO Conference on Thursday, Marcos described his scheduled attendance at the Grand Prix as a “happy coincidence.”
“All of these, the Forbes CEO, all of these meetings that I'm having happened... Because what's happened with the Singapore F1, it's become such an event that all these other events are scheduled around it because so many people come,” said Marcos.
He also said that prior to becoming president, he came to watch F1 racing and met former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew.
"I came to the conclusion: you come to the Singapore F1, you can meet anybody, everyone that you want. Even some of the businessmen from the Philippines; I had meetings with them because they were there for the F1,” he said.
When Castro was asked if Marcos was aware of the criticisms of his attendance at the racing match, she said all appearances of the president get criticism.
“Regardless of the event—whether personal or public, or related to the economy and the welfare of our fellow citizens—President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. never ceases to be the president, not even for a single minute or second. In every move he makes, his mindset is focused on uplifting the Philippines and our people,” she said.
In 2022, Marcos received flak for attending the Grand Prix despite some parts of the country being flooded by then-super typhoon ‘Karding.’
