‘Welcome to Hokkaido’ quips Marcos over rumors of Japan trip during height of Paeng
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. appeared to poke fun at rumors about his supposed weekend trip to Japan at the height of Typhoon Paeng when he said “Welcome to Hokkaido!” to reporters covering him during a visit to an evacuation center in Cavite.
After online allegations surfaced alleging that Marcos was physically absent from the situation briefing on Paeng’s aftermath on October 29 because he was in Japan, Marcos paid a visit to the evacuation center in Noveleta on October 31.
The President made it clear he was aware of the allegations where he oversaw the distribution of aid to typhoon victims.
“Welcome to Hokkaido!” he quipped to reporters while chuckling end the end of a brief question-and-answer during his visit.
#NasaanAngPangulo had trended on social media when netizens noticed Marcos had only attended the post-typhoon briefing via Zoom and was yet to make a physical appearance or aerial inspection of the typhoon damage, as presidents are expected to do.
The rumors had gotten so loud that Office of the Press Secretary officer-in-charge Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil denied that Marcos was on holiday in Japan but failed to categorically mention where the president was.
Netizens weren’t amused by Marcos’s attempt at levity, especially when the country is still reeling from the effects of Paeng, which left 101 dead and over 2 million families affected.
