THE United States is sending a high-powered delegation, led by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, to the June 30 inauguration of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. as the Philippines’ 17th president.
The US Embassy in Manila said President Joseph Biden himself announced the composition of the US delegation in a briefing at the White House.
Emhoff is the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris.
The members of the delegation are Heather Variava, chargé d’affaires, ad interim of the US Embassy; Bobby Scott, chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, United States representative (D), Virginia; Nani Coloretti, deputy director, Office of Management and Budget; Admiral James “Sandy” Winnefeld, Jr. (ret.) former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Edgard Kagan, special assistant to the President and senior director for East Asia and Oceania, National Security Council; and Chantale Wong, director of the Asian Development Bank.
To recall, Biden was among the world leaders who congratulated Marcos on his winning the May 9 presidential race.
Last month, US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said the telephone call between Biden and Marcos Jr. showed the US’ desire to further strengthen ties between the two close allies.
Manila and Washington have a the Mutual Defense Treaty that pledged both nations to come to the aid of the other in case of foreign invasion or aggression.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier said Washington is also eyeing stronger ties with Manila under the new administration.
Manila had a prickly relationship with Washington under the outgoing Duterte administration, with the latter bristling at US criticism of his government’s human right records and the bloody war against the illegal drugs trade.
At one point, Duterte also threatened to put an end to the Visiting Forces Agreement which governs the conduct of US military forces while in the country during training exercises with their Filipino counterparts.
Marcos Jr. is also hounded by several issues, not the least about the ill-gotten wealth and human rights abuses during his late father’s term, the dictator, Ferdinand Sr. A US court has ruled in favor of victims of martial law during the elder Marcos’ rule.
Another issue in Marcos’ relationship with Washington is the contempt order handed down in 2012 by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit against his mother, Imelda, and the estate of Marcos Sr. for violating an injunction that barred them from dispersing assets of the estate.
The PNP said about 1,200 to 1,400 VIPs have been invited to the inauguration.
INAUGURATION ATTIRE
Marcos’ team is still waiting for the design of the Barong Tagalog he will wear during his inauguration.
Jay Herrera, Marcos’ official image specialist, said that for the inauguration, the President-elect’s sister Irene Araneta held a contest among designers to get the “best design” for Marcos’ barong and “(it) will be decided within the next few hours.”
“As of this moment, there is no official design yet for BBM,” he said, adding that the contest also includes designs for the barong of Marcos’ three sons.
For incoming First Lady Louise “Liza” Marcos, he recommended a glam team to assist her, Herrera said.
Herrera said Marcos has been wearing jusi or shirt-jack barong designed mostly by Avel Bacudio.
He said Marcos is not a “vain” person and often takes his appearance for granted. He said proof of this is that sometimes Marcos’ hair would appear unruly or windblown during interviews.
Herrera, who has been working for Marcos for eight years, said the incoming president can be meticulous but would not want to allot too much time on his hair. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
