Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr drew flak on social media for his use of a presidential helicopter to attend a concert by British rock band Coldplay in a province north of the capital, Manila.
The Philippine Arena, the world’s largest indoor arena, saw an influx of 40,000 concert-goers resulting in “unforeseen traffic complications along the route,” the Presidential Security Group said in a statement.
The traffic situation posed a security threat to Marcos who attended the Friday night concert with his wife, prompting the use of the presidential chopper, it added.
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But social media users criticised the use of taxpayer money by Marcos, the son and namesake of the late strongman president whose rule ended nearly four decades ago in a historic “people power” revolution.
“Using official resources, like the presidential chopper, for personal and non-official activities is generally considered an abuse of power or misuse of government resources,” Facebook user James Patrick Aristorenas said in a post on Saturday.
“We paid for the use of the chopper, fuel and security, who knows even for the tickets for everyone,” Facebook user Arvine Concepcion said.