Upbeat and encouraging.
This was how Communications Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles described how President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos has been since he made his historic return to Malacañang 36 years after his family was ousted through People Power.
"So far, he's upbeat. That's an observation that we have made," Angeles said during her first press briefing on Monday, July 4.
"He's very encouraging. He attended today's flag ceremony, of course, as required," she added.
The Palace official also said Marcos was well-received by the workers in Malacañang.
"What I can say is he's always well-received. When he attended flag, nakaka-excite din (it was also exciting) for the people who are working with him. So far, that's what we can observe," Angeles said.
During the flag ceremony on Monday morning, Marcos said he made sure to attend the flag ceremony to "start out on the right foot" with the other Palace workers, whom he called "partners."
As he assured them they would not be neglected, President Marcos urged Malacañang employees to continue doing their job right as their work is essential to the Filipino people.
"When you sit at your desk, and you do something, and you make a decision, or you push something, or you expedite something that affects not only you, not only me, that affects millions of people," he said.
Marcos took his oath as the country's 17th President on June 30. He got the votes of over 31 million Filipinos in the May 2022 elections despite the controversial 20-year rule of his father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
He spent his first day back in the Palace meeting foreign officials and leading the oath-taking ceremony of his Cabinet and local officials from Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur. He hosted an inaugural dinner when night came.
The following morning, Marcos attended a mass officiated by Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula at the San Miguel Parish Church. Vice President Sara Duterte and other Cabinet members joined him.
On July 2, former First Lady Imelda Marcos celebrated her 93rd birthday at Malacañang's Rizal Hall.