Malacañang clarified that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s absence from the official group photo at the ASEAN-Japan Summit on October 26 was due to an extended bilateral meeting with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro told reporters that the president’s absence had been misinterpreted online and stressed that Marcos attended the summit in full.
“Like to clarify that,” Castro said. “Opo, kasi mukhang hindi nabibigyan ng tamang kwento o konteksto ‘yung nangyari,” she added.
(Translation: Yes, because it seems the full context of what happened hasn’t been properly explained.)
Castro explained that the group photo was taken while the president was still meeting with the UN chief, based on information from Secretary Dave Gomez.
“So liwanagin lang po natin: wala po ang Pangulo sa photo ops, pero umattend po siya sa summit,” she clarified. “Nagkataon lang po na nung nagkaroon sila ng photo ops, ang Pangulo ay nasa meeting pa.”
(Translation: To clarify, the president wasn’t there during the photo session, but he attended the summit. The photo just happened to coincide with his meeting.)
A viral image earlier showed ASEAN and Japanese leaders posing for the traditional handshake without Marcos, sparking speculation about his whereabouts.
The Palace said the president’s schedule overlapped with the bilateral talks, which lasted longer than expected. Marcos later joined the ASEAN-Japan Summit after completing his meeting with Guterres.
