The President was one of the attendees during the band’s first night in Bulacan.
On Friday, January 19, British rock band Coldplay returned to the Philippines after six years as part of their ongoing ‘Music of the Spheres’ world tour.
Held at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, amongst the 40,000-strong crowd that evening is none other than Philippine President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos.
He attended the event together with his family, notably his wife and First Lady Liza Marcos and their son Simon.
However, his presence sparked outrage online after a post went viral on social media of the Presidential Chopper being parked just outside the venue.
Due to this, the Presidential Security Command (PSC) on Saturday issued their statement.
As per PSC Commander MGen. Nelson Morales, the decision for the President to use the chopper was made due to the “unprecedented influx of 40,000 individuals eagerly attending a concert, resulting in unforeseen traffic complications along the route.”
“Recognizing that this traffic situation posed a potential threat to the security of our President, the PSG took decisive action by opting for the presidential chopper,” Morales added.
In an interview with GMA Integrated News, PBBM shared that he uses the Presidential helicopter to move around because he tries to avoid causing traffic jam.
This is “because when I [BBM] go to… everybody has to stop, everybody has to, so I try, I try as little as possible to cause traffic.”
In a separate interview with the press, the President was asked about his attendance in the recent Coldplay concert in Bulacan.
“Siguro, by now, alam na ninyo na music lover talaga ako. I have been for a long time, I have studied music for many years. And to have somebody like Coldplay—you can’t—unmissable dapat ‘yun,” the President said.
He adds: “You cannot miss. So, I went and it was, by the way, it was fantastic. It was great.”