Philippine president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr was given exclusive pitstop access at the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix over the Sep. 15 to 17 race weekend.
He was invited by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to witness the race, according to Philstar.
Exclusive access to Ferrari’s F1 garage
Marcos Jr was spotted in Ferrari’s Formula 1 (F1) garage in a TikTok on Sep. 16.
The video, which initially focused on Ferrari F1 racer Charles Leclerc’s Italian girlfriend Alexandra Saint Mleux, later moved on to show the president of the Philippines in front of her.
Wearing a Ferrari cap, Marcos Jr was also spotted with a headset that was usually reserved for F1 team members and principal sponsors.
The F1 enthusiast was engrossed with the sights and sounds of the qualifying round.
@imferdinand_jr Pbbm watching F1 Race here at singapore Pbbm hope you are enjoy it #forpageyou #foryoupageofficiall #tiktokphilippines🇵🇭 #bongbongmarcos ♬ YK – Cean Jr.
The following day on Sep. 17, Marcos Jr and PM Lee watched the Ferrari team win the Grand Prix.
Marcos Jr was also in Singapore to meet Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
The three leaders had, according to the leader of the Philippines, a “promising” discussion about a better cooperation to tackle global issues.
Image via PM Lee/Facebook.
The Singapore visit was met with some opposition back home.
In the Philippines, a local peasant advocacy group condemned the president’s visit as “lamentable”, while the nation is struggling with “a severe economic crisis”.
This is, nonetheless, not a new criticism.
In 2022, he was also slammed for visiting Singapore to watch the Grand Prix, seemingly showing a “lack of sympathy” towards typhoon-stricken Filipinos.
Mobbed by fellow Filipino fans in Lucky Plaza
On Sep. 17, Marcos Jr was mobbed by fellow Filipinos when he made a surprise visit to Lucky Plaza in the afternoon.
The mall along Orchard Road strip is highly popular among Filipino migrant workers, who usually gather there on their days off.
Thousands turned up and swarmed Marcos Jr as he inched his way through the mall and even when he was leaving in a car.
As evidence for his popularity, the son of the former dictator Ferdinand Marcos secured a landslide victory of around 60 per cent of votes in the Philippines’ 2022 presidential elections.
That is equivalent to over 31.1 million votes.
Clad in a white shirt, Marcos Jr waved at and shook hands with adoring fans, who were also eager to snap selfies with him.
“We’re happy because we were able to see the president in person,” said one Filipino migrant worker, as reported by Manila Bureau.
The fans also expressed their continued support for Marcos Jr and satisfaction with his current administration in the Philippines.
“We hope the reforms in the Philippines continue. We’re happy for the changes in the Philippines,” said another Filipino migrant worker.
@ig_ranzhenera♬ original sound – Ranzhenera🇵🇭🇸🇬
@tesserasera #fypage #fyp #fypシ゚viral #pbbm 😍 #luckyplaza #orchardroad #f1grandprix #president #paparazzi ♬ original sound – Sourdough
Later, Marcos Jr thanked his Filipino fans for their massive support in his Facebook post.
In 2022, Philippines senator and actor Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada was mobbed by Filipinos when he appeared at Lucky Plaza on Jun. 5.
Second time in S’pore to witness F1
This is Marcos Jr’s second time in Singapore witnessing the Singapore Grand Prix.
He was in Singapore during the week from Sep. 13 to 17.
Marcos Jr was invited as a guest speaker at the think tank Milken Institute’s 10th Asian Summit in Singapore on Sep. 13, together with DPM Wong and Malaysia prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.
According to Manila Times, the Philippines president also had roundtable meetings with business leaders from Singapore, India, and Malaysia.
He was also present at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix in October 2022.
In September 2022, Marco Jr was also here to meet thousands of adoring fans at the National University of Singapore.
Top images from @ig_ranzhenera & @imferdinand_jr.
