In flood-hit Philippines, ‘out of touch’ Marcos slammed for private birthday serenade

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s birthday serenade for his wife might have been a private gesture, but as floodwaters overwhelmed much of Luzon – the country’s largest and most populous island and home to the capital Manila – a viral clip of him singing became a public-relations crisis.

Observers told This Week in Asia that Marcos’ celebration of his wife, Marie Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos, on her 67th birthday struck the wrong chord with a public already angered by deadly floods,...