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Kevin Tan and Sabin Aboitiz settle down and sip wine with presumptive President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
MANILA, Philippines — It was well known how dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and his wife Imelda knew how to throw a party.
Her son, President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., obviously knows how to have a good time with friends.
The latest celebration may not seem as swanky as the parties of Marcos Jr.’s Malacañang youth, but his billionaire guests and celebrities nonetheless showed he had an elite circle behind him.
Chat groups and Twitter were ecstatic over a photo and video showing business leaders celebrating with Marcos Jr. at his campaign headquarters late Monday night, May 9, as unofficial partial results showed a landslide victory for the late dictator’s son.
The photo showed Sabin Aboitiz sitting next to Marcos and opening a bottle of red wine for the table with other prominent businessmen. Aboitiz, who is married to Bettina Araneta, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Aboitiz Group, which has business interests in energy, financial services, food manufacturing, real estate and infrastructure.
Alongside Marcos, Alliance Global’s Kevin Tan was also spotted wearing a red polo shirt. Alliance Global is the parent company of Megaworld, Travelers International, Infracorp Development and Golden Arches Development Corp. which owns the McDonald’s franchise in the Philippines.
Tan has been spotted attending at least one Marcos campaign event, as posted on TikTok by a Marcos supporter.
Also at the table was Greggy Araneta, Marcos’ brother-in-law and head of PhilWeb Corporation and Araneta Properties. Philweb and Araneta Properties stock prices soared on Tuesday as investors speculated on better times for the companies under a Marcos presidency.
Miss Universe 1973 Margie Moran-Floirendo was also present at the celebrations.
A video also circulated on Viber groups of Lisa Araneta and Irene Marcos singing “Umagang Kay Ganda” with Inigo and Maricris Zobel. Inigo is a cousin of Jaime Zobel de Ayala.
These tycoons and public figures were spotted at some of Marcos’ campaign events. Were they just there to show support or were they helping fund Marcos’ campaign? Were these tycoons popping champagne to celebrate Marcos’ victory or the prospects for their companies? – Rappler.com
