SINGAPORE --- President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos were mesmerized as they admired the beauty of the new orchid hybrid named after them.
The First Couple arrived at the Singapore Botanic Gardens early Wednesday morning, September 7, the first event of their packed schedule before they leave for the Philippines in the evening.
During the event, the President and the First Lady were visibly awed by the beauty of the Dendrobium Ferdinand Louise Marcos as the officials of the National Orchid Garden explained the specifics of the new hybrid plant to them.
President Marcos then planted the name tag of the orchid into the pot before he and his wife signed the guest book.
The Dendrobium Ferdinand Louise Marcos is a robust and free-flowering orchid hybrid. It produces semi-arching inflorescences of 50 to 70 centimeters in length that bear 20 to 30 well-arranged flowers, each measuring approximately four centimeters in width.
The elegantly curled sepals have a white background adorned with lavender striations, while the distinguished petals are white with bluish mauve. They are complemented by a violet lip.
LOOK: The Dendrobium Ferdinand Louise Marcos. A hybrid orchid that Singapore will name after President Marcos and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos. @manilabulletin pic.twitter.com/P7o2XAppNO
— Argyll Cyrus Geducos (@argyllcyrus_MB) September 6, 2022
According to Whang Lay Keng, the curator of the National Orchid Garden, they were honored to have the First Couple and name a new orchid hybrid after them.
She said the event was part of Singapore's "orchid diplomacy," which aims to forge closer ties between Singapore and foreign countries.
"By naming this orchid, it actually signifies the closer relationship," she said.
The Dendrobium Ferdinand Louise Marcos was created and can only be found at the Singapore Botanic Gard. Whang said they would continue to grow and propagate it so they could display the plant at the National Orchid Garden.
Whang said the Dendrobium Ferdinand Louise Marcos is a new hybrid between the Dendrobium Dr and Mrs Hew Choy Sin and the Dendrobium lineale.
"This is a very beautiful hybrid because the color itself is very unique. It's bluish, which is not common in dendrobium," she noted.
Marcos is the latest Philippine president to get an orchid in Singapore named after him. The following leaders likewise got the same gesture:
- 2016: Dendrobium Rodrigo Roa Duterte
- 2011: Papilionanda Benigno S Aquino III
- 2001: Aranthera Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo