Footage taken during an event attended by President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Marcos, Senate President Chiz Escudero, and other VIPs went viral on social media due to an unusual incident.
The event, called Vin d’Honneur, was held every Independence Day and was usually attended by public officials and VIPs.
The video showed Liza walking toward other guests to greet them when she saw the champagne glass being held by Escudero and took it.
The first lady could be seen taking a sip of Escudero’s drink when staff informed Marcos about her own champagne glass.
She then returned the glass to Escudero, who was visibly dazed by the incident.
In a statement, Escudero said that he was only trying to be a gentleman during his interaction with the first lady.
“Maaaring sabihin ng iba na maka-luma o parang ‘under’ pero para sakin, hindi kailanman magiging maka-luma o di uso, ano man ang itawag ng iba, ang pagiging maginoo at pakikipag-kapwa tao,” he said.
“Hindi minamasama ang anumang pagkakataon na maging at magpaka-maginoo sa sinumang ginang o binibini…” he added.
Despite his explanation, many netizens believed that FL’s gesture cheapened Escudero’s position as one of the top public officials in the country.