Daily Tribune
First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos presides over the inter-agency meeting with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, National Historical Commission of the Philippines and the Cultural Center of the Philippines to ensure a memorable 12 June celebration.
Photograph courtesy of Liza Marcos / FB Page
First Lady Liza Marcos said that netizens do not have any idea how close she is with Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero for the longest time.
The First Lady broke her silence on Friday regarding their viral wine glass video during the Vin d'Honneur in Malacañan during the Independence Day celebrations last Wednesday.
Based on the viral video, the First Lady approached Escudero and unexpectedly took a sip of wine from his glass before returning it to him. Escudero appeared to laugh off the incident after a waiter gave her another wine glass.
Netizens suspected that the Senate President was mistakenly perceived as a waiter by the First Lady based on what they saw in the video.
In a statement, the First Lady insisted that their closeness was misinterpreted by people whom she claimed didn’t have an idea of how long they have been friends.
The First Lady said that she has known the Senate President since her law school days, where Escudero studied in the University of the Philippines and Araneta-Marcos went to Ateneo de Manila.
“We’ve been friends for like forever. So whether ‘I made him a waiter’ and/or ‘he responded like a gentleman’ is between us,” Araneta-Marcos said.
First Lady Liza explained that she and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. joined the ceremonial hall in Malacañan after a long morning of greeting diplomats and representatives.
When she saw Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Marcos said the Senate President jokingly teased her for remaining lively after welcoming 82 ambassadors and representatives from international organizations for more than an hour.
“When Chiz saw me, he said, ‘Wow—bilib din ako sa iyo (I'm impressed with you too). May energy ka pa (You still have the energy) after standing and smiling for over an hour. I’m sure you could use a drink,’” the First Lady quoted Escudero as saying.
“I laughed and said, ‘You bet!’ And so I mischievously got his glass of champagne, took a sip and told him, ‘Eeeew, hindi naman malamig ang champagne mo (your champagne isn't cold).’ After that, I gave his champagne glass back to him. And then we both had a good laugh over that,” she added.
In an earlier statement on Thursday, Escudero said he was only being a gentleman to do nothing if the wife of the President suddenly sipped wine from his glass.
He said there is nothing wrong with being a gentleman to any lady at every opportunity.
"I consider waiting on a lady (first or otherwise) to be gentlemanly. Others may say it's old-fashioned or outdated, but for me, being courteous and treating others with respect will never be old-fashioned or out of style, no matter what others may call it," Escudero said.
