Marcos ‘not on vacation,’ Palace insists

Palace Press Officer and Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro maintained that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., despite his plan to spend Holy Week in his hometown province of Ilocos Norte, will not be on vacation.

“The President does not believe in the concept of vacation. He said he will spend Holy Week in Ilocos Norte with his family. There is no vacation because the President will continue monitoring and issuing directives to government agencies,” Castro said in a Palace press briefing on Tuesday.

However, Castro did not disclose when the President would leave for Ilocos Norte.

In an ambush interview on the sidelines of the opening of the Central Luzon Link Expressway Contract Package 4 in Aliaga-Cabanatuan, Marcos said, “I will spend a few days in Ilocos Norte, and I will be back in Manila by the weekend.”

Meanwhile, Castro told reporters that government employees will have a half-day work-from-home arrangement on Holy Wednesday.