Malacañang came to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s defense on Sunday after a video of him serenading First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos went viral, with critics tying the 26 August performance to the flooding that hit Metro Manila three days later.

Marcos sang The Beatles’ “And I Love Her” and Basil Valdez’s “You” during the First Lady’s post-birthday celebration at their South Forbes home in Makati City.

The gathering took place during a lull in the bad weather and before the latest round of heavy rains that flooded the capital.

Former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque was among those who criticized the President, saying he was “having a concert while Pampanga and Bulacan were being inundated in floodwaters.” But the timeline was less dramatic as the celebration preceded Saturday’s flooding, when the southwest monsoon, or habagat, brought heavy rains across Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Not derelict

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said spending time with his family did not mean Marcos had abandoned his duties.

“The President is the President wherever he may be. Spending a few hours with his family does not mean that he has stopped performing his duties or that government operations have ceased,” Castro said.

She added that Marcos continued monitoring the rains and directing government agencies to assist affected communities.

The controversy comes as the administration faces mounting scrutiny over its flood-control program, following allegations of ghost and substandard projects involving billions of pesos in public funds.

Former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, who is wanted in connection with alleged corruption in flood-control projects, has accused Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez of receiving P56 billion in alleged kickbacks from 2022 to 2025. Both have denied the allegations.

Co also claimed that some of the money was delivered to an address in South Forbes, the same subdivision where Marcos’ residence is located. The allegations have not been established in court.

PLM firestorm

The President’s public image also came under scrutiny a day after the singing video was recorded, this time over an honorary doctorate conferred on him by the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM).

The Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy condemned PLM for granting Marcos a Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, during the university’s 58th commencement exercises on 27 August, calling the honor an insult to PLM’s martyrs and Filipinos who fought against dictatorship.

“Honoring a Marcos is an insult to the martyrs of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) and the Filipino people!” CONTEND said.

The group said universities should honor students, workers, teachers, journalists and ordinary Filipinos who fought for democracy and social justice rather than political figures and dynasties.

PLM chairman Edward Serapio defended the conferment, saying the university recognized Marcos’ support for education and the construction of the PLM Medicine and Allied Sciences Building.

‘Stand with people’

“I stand by the principle that the honor was conferred in grateful recognition of the President’s support for education and for the construction of the PLM Medicine and Allied Sciences Building,” Serapio said.

CONTEND rejected the argument, saying educational support should not determine who receives a university’s highest honorary distinction.

“The university must stand with the people, not with political power,” the group said.