First Lady, Sons Issue ‘EO’ Ordering Marcos to Rest on Father’s Day

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. received a lighthearted Father’s Day directive from his family: stop working, skip stressful meetings and eat dessert.

First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and their sons Sandro, Simon and Vinny marked Father’s Day on Sunday by issuing a spoof “executive order” directing the President to rest for the day. The mock order was shared by the First Lady in a Facebook post, where she wrote, “By virtue of our Executive Order, you are hereby directed to rest today!” 

The “Official Presidential Father’s Day Executive Order” contained three playful provisions: “Dad must rest today,” “no stressful meetings,” and “dessert is mandatory.” It also noted that Marcos “tirelessly attends to the affairs of the nation while also fulfilling the responsibilities of fatherhood,” and therefore deserved “a period of well-deserved rest” on Father’s Day.

Araneta-Marcos also paid tribute to her husband in her post. “Our children may call you pops, the nation may call you Mr. President, but I’m the lucky one who gets to call you mine,” she said.

“Thank you for your strength, your patience, your terrible jokes and your big heart,” she added.

Marcos later shared that the mock EO had been framed, joking that he was proclaiming it “applicable to all the busy Dads out there.” 

The First Lady’s post was part of a series of Father’s Day messages involving the President, who also paid tribute to his own father, the late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., and greeted fathers and father figures. 

The light family moment came shortly after Marcos returned to Manila from a working visit in Kazan, Russia. On Monday, he is scheduled to personally inspect infrastructure projects in Cebu and Bohol provinces.