LAM for president?

At the blockbuster Rotary Club of Manila (RCM) meeting Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, where the First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos was the guest of honor and speaker, I asked a question nearly everybody, except perhaps the President of the Philippines, wanted to ask but could not summon the courage to ask.

“Would you like to be president of the Philippines?” The jaded crowd fell into a momentary silence.

LAM’s reply: “You know, I laugh every time somebody asks me, ‘Would you like to be president of the Philippines?’ It’s like, ‘Are you crazy?’

“Just think about it. If I were president, by virtue of the law, I would be the commander-in-chief. That means my husband would salute me. Then I’d salute him back. We would both laugh, and that would be the end of the solemn ceremony. When we enter a room, they’d say, ‘Now announcing the arrival of President Liza Marcos and the First Gentleman.’ I mean, that would be the end of our marriage, right? You cannot emasculate your spouse. No, I don’t think so.

“Besides, at the end of the day, I see my husband’s schedule. It’s brutal. He starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m., going from one visit to another.

“And, you know, with only 609 days to go, I won’t have to wear a terno or put on makeup and hairspray. My hair will be so happy. So, the answer is no.” Laughter and applause.

“I love my country,” Liza assured, but added, she loves BBM and their family too, if not more.

I persisted, “But Ma’am, if you were president…” LAM cut in: “I would fire you first.” Laughter from the Rotary crowd.

I pursued my question. “But Ma’am, if you were president, what would you do differently?” The crowd was quiet in expectation. “Loaded,” LAM oohed, “loaded.”

LAM’s answer: “Apart from firing you? My husband is working on digitalization. It’s just really hard, because you need to put together all these stubborn people to cooperate, right? Like now, we have 80,000 people in eGov. You can get your (driver’s) license in five minutes. There’s Markus (Lacanilao of LTO). It’s the best in the West. Five minutes. You can try (it) for your ID.”

She gazed to where LTO chief ASec Markus Lacanilao was seated to acknowledge his presence. “I hope he doesn’t get fired,” I remarked.

There had been rumors the Markus would be promoted or moved laterally, to accommodate a person favored by some powers-that-be to whom newly designated Transportation Vince Dizon could not say no.

Few people know about this. Markus Lacanilao is the ersatz 007 operative who collared former president Rodrigo Duterte from his plane seat and accompanied him to jail in The Hague on March 11, 2025. Duterte diehards had maneuvered to hijack the former president from the VIP Lounge of NAIA in the guise of bringing him to a hospital for a medical emergency. Markus put his foot down on the scheme, rented a Lear jet on the spot and with Duterte in tow, flew 21 hours to the Netherlands to surrender the strongman to the International Criminal Court for trial for alleged human rights violations. Markus estimates the Dutertes killed up to 50,000 victims during their long reign at Davao City Hall and six years in Malacañang.

Another of Markus’ stellar achievements is the pursuit and collaring abroad in September 2024 of human trafficking convict and alleged Chinese spy Alice Guo (Guo Hua Ping), now serving a life sentence in Mandaluyong.

Digitalization, said LAM at the RCM forum, “is really difficult, because the system is made for corruption. So you just have to soldier on.” She revealed she tested the system. “I went to San Juan (city) to get my ID. I got it and was given the P100,000 bonus for senior citizens.”

“You are now a senior citizen?” I asked, surprised. “I thought you were below 40 – before the devaluation.”

Construction tycoon Alex Cureg asked the First Lady about the peso-dollar rate. He seemed worried.

“Talking about the peso-dollar rate, (it) is not an isolated case,” LAM assured her audience. “It’s the whole world (suffering).  It’s the pressure of the Gaza (and) Iran wars. You gonna take two years to feel the pressure, the full impact. It’s one of the things the ASEAN (summit this November in Manila) is going to take up.  Before, everybody looked at America (for the solution). Now, ASEAN’s attitude is, let’s handle this ourselves.”

Every president had his crisis moment, LAM recalled. “During Duterte’s time, it was COVID, and look what happened. Now it’s the oil crisis. It’s really bad. I mean, I’m sure you’ve seen what’s happening in Europe – the rallies, the burning buildings. I mean, yeah, that is what ASEAN is trying to do.”

PEZA zone tycoon Chico Zaldarriaga asked LAM about her legacy as the First Lady.

“When I became First Lady,” LAM narrated, “I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ My mother-in-law – whether it was the Cultural Center or the PICC, she had it. She had the vision. But I don’t think the Filipinos were ready for that then, you know – (it was) something extravagant or whatever. And she was bashed for that.

“But now, you see PICC. I just have to reiterate what she (Imelda) did right,” LAM said.

“The First Lady (LAM) restored PICC and the Coconut Palace, as well as the various mansions around Malacañang. She’s restoring Filipino dignity, pride, culture and heritage. Magaling po ang Filipino. Huwag po kayong mawalan ng loob,” I added.

By the way, LAM donated an awesome $30,000 to the RCM’s water hygiene and sanitation project. She matched the $30,000 donation made by Rotary mogul Raffy Garcia.

“The Nov. 5 RCM meeting is one of the best-attended meetings of our Rotary year, rivaling even our traditional inaugural meetings,” exulted RCM president Reggie Yu.

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