A tree planting and signing of an executive order for farmers in the morning, a luncheon in the Palace at noon, and a gift-giving in the afternoon.
This was how President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. celebrated his 65th birthday on Tuesday, Sept. 13.
Marcos started the first working hours of his birth anniversary by leading the kick-off ceremony of the national bamboo and tree planting in an old landfill site in San Mateo, Rizal.
There, he planted Kawayang Tinik to mark the nationwide tree planting campaign which aims to cover more than 11,631 hectares of land in 2023.
“We have to do this as a concrete step that we take so that nature is cared for because it desperately needs that care and it desperately needs that attention,” Marcos said.
At the site, the President was given a cake by the organizers as they sang him a happy birthday.
EO on freezing land amortization
Shortly after the activity in Rizal, the President signed Executive Order No. 4 which imposes a year-long moratorium on payments on the annual amortization and interest payments of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) for agricultural lands distributed under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).
The signing of the EO seeks to relieve agrarian beneficiaries of their debts, allowing them to use the money to develop their farms and improve their production.
This was among the commitments Marcos made during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July.
Luncheon in Malacañang
After the scheduled signing of EO No. 4, clips and photos of a birthday luncheon for Marcos in Malacañang were posted by government officials on their social media pages.
The luncheon, which was not disclosed in the schedule of the President for the day, was attended by Cabinet members and other government officials, among them senators and former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, now a congresswoman in Pampanga.
LOOK: A birthday luncheon for President Marcos is held at the Malacañang Palace today, Sept. 13.
DSWD Chief Erwin Tulfo posted on Facebook a clip of the luncheon, where other gov't officials and personalities like former president Arroyo, are in attendance. @manilabulletin pic.twitter.com/6LleGwPWMO
— Betheena Unite (@MB_unite) September 13, 2022
An orphanage visit
The Chief Executive spent the afternoon with the children of White Cross in San Juan City.
During the program, he is gifted with a birthday cake and offered a birthday song by the White Cross children.
In his remarks, he said, "Wala nang mas magandang pagdiriwang ng isang kaarawan, maalala natin ang ating mga kababayan na nangangailangan ng tulong at lahat ng ating magagawa para sila ay matulungan (There is no better way to celebrate a birthday than to remember our fellowmen who need help and all the things we can do to help them)."
A one-on-one interview
The airing of his one-on-one interview with television host Toni Gonzaga capped the President's day off.
In his interview, he made several stands on current issues related to the economy, agriculture, health, war on drugs, the International Criminal Court (ICC) and his relationship to his chief legal counsel Juan Ponce Enrile.
There, he also debunked claims on his presidential candidacy and defended his father as he broke into tears.