First Lady Liza sends off President Marcos ahead of Russia visit

MANILA, Philippines — On one of the few occasions, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos did not accompany her husband, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., on his working visit to Russia from June 17 to 18.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, the first lady shared photos of herself sending off the president at the Maharlika Hangar at Villamor Air Base “for a very quick trip to Russia.”

Marcos will co-chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-Russia Commemorative Summit in the city of Kazan and hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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The presidential aircraft carrying Marcos and his delegation left Manila at 11:55 p.m. on Tuesday and is expected to arrive in Kazan around 1 p.m. (Philippine time).

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The president assigned Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III, and Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino as caretakers of the government while he is away.

READ: Marcos heads to Kazan for Asean-Russia Summit, meeting with Putin

“A long journey for such a short visit — 13 hours to get there, another 13 hours flying home, and only about 38 hours on the ground,” First Lady Marcos posted on her social media.

“But every hour matters when the conversations revolve around issues that affect everyday life for Filipino families — from food and energy security to fuel prices,” she added.

It will be President Marcos’ first time on Russian soil — 50 years after his father, then-President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., made his visit to the then-Soviet Union in 1976, which culminated in the establishment of diplomatic relations between Manila and Moscow. /mcm

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