SINGAPORE --- Singapore is set to name a new orchid hybrid after President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos during their visit here on Wednesday, September 7.
Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the first couple would have the orchid the Dendrobium Ferdinand Louise Marcos named in their honor.
The President and the First Lady will grace the naming of the orchid at the Singapore Botanical Gardens on Wednesday, the last day of his two-day visit.
It is a tradition in Singapore to name orchids after visiting dignitaries such as royalties, heads of state and government, and even celebrities.
The so-called "orchid diplomacy" is a gesture of friendship to promote goodwill between Singapore and other countries.
Marcos is making his first State Visit to Singapore on September 6. This is his second overseas trip since he was elected in May 2022. He first visited Indonesia on September 4.
Marcos was not the first Philippine president to have an orchid in Singapore named after him. The three presidents before him also had orchids named after them.
In December 2016, Singapore named the violet-red orchid Dendrobium Rodrigo Roa Duterte after former President Rodrigo Duterte. It is a cross between a Dendrobium Sonia Beauty and Dendrobium Urmila Nandey.
Singapore likewise named a bright golden yellow orchid after the late President Benigno Aquino III (Papilionanda Benigno S Aquino III) when he visited here in March 2011. His mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, also got an orchid named after her (Dendrobium Corazon Aquino) in 1986.
Meanwhile, Singapore renamed the Rattanakosin, a vibrant red orchid, Aranthera Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, when the former president visited Singapore in August 2001.