Marcos turns 68 with ‘salo-salo’ on Malacañang grounds
President Marcos marked his 68th birthday with an official celebration that once again veered from lavish partying and hewed closer to what Malacañang now calls his “tradition” to celebrate with the Filipino people.
On Friday, the eve of Mr. Marcos’ birthday on Sept. 13, Malacañang held a “Salo-salo sa Palasyo” at the Kalayaan grounds in front of the old Executive Building which is now the Presidential Museum and Library.
There was no speech on that occasion as the President, accompanied by first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, simply played children’s games with the kids gathered there.
The old Executive Building was where parties and other functions noted for their pomp were held during his father’s rule.
‘Enduring bond’
This was also where the older Marcos held his final presidential inauguration on Feb. 25, 1986, which was also the last of the four-day People Power Revolution that led to the ouster of the Marcoses from power.
A now historic image from that episode is the younger Marcos, then 28, in army fatigues, joining his sisters and mother as his father delivers a defiant address from the balcony of that building.
Despite that dark chapter for the family, Mr. Marcos in recent years has chosen to hold his Cabinet meetings there instead of the Aguinaldo Room where his immediate predecessors had held their meetings.
On Mr. Marcos’ watch, festivities at the Palace have been made simpler and held outside the building to be closer to the people, according to the Palace.
“The Salo-salo sa Palasyo has become an annual tradition under the Marcos administration, symbolizing openness, gratitude, and the enduring bond between the President and the people he serves,” the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement on Friday.
‘My dream’ for Filipinos
The President celebrated his first birthday in office with a nationwide tree-planting event launched in San Mateo, Rizal. He turned 65 at that time.
The next year, he flew to Singapore to address the 10th Asian Conference of think tank Milken Insitute and attend the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix 2023.
It was on his 67th birthday in 2024 that Malacañang introduced the “Handog ng Pangulo: Salo-salo sa Palasyo,” the complete name of that activity. That day, Mr. Marcos also flew to Nueva Ecija to launch the “Agri Puhunan at Pantawid” program for assisting rice farmers who are members of cooperatives.
Interviewed by reporters during his state visit to Cambodia on Tuesday, the President reiterated his birthday wish last year that Filipinos will never experience hunger again.
“My birthday wishes have not changed since the beginning until now that I have been President, and that is that every Filipino’s life be good, that we can continue all our projects to help, especially the poor,” he said. “And that still doesn’t really change. I hope we can achieve … my dream of no more hungry Filipinos.” —WITH INQUIRER RESEARCH
