In squandering hundreds of millions of pesos—possibly more—of the people’s money to build a “resort-like” presidential home in the Malacañang grounds, Marcos has further alienated himself from Filipinos and incited deeper and more widespread indignation.

Amid rising poverty, hunger, and hardship faced by the majority of the Filipino people, the Malacañang home-resort, the so-called Bahay Pangulo, stands as an obscene display of the Marcoses’ opulence. It reflects the repugnant lifestyle made infamous by Marcos matriarch Imelda. Manang-mana sa ina! He is enjoying his life so much in Malacañang, it will come as no surprise if he is planning to extend his stay.

Marcos continues to turn a deaf ear to the demands of the broad masses for public funds to be used to alleviate their daily suffering. Instead, he used the people’s money to construct a home-resort to satisfy his family’s craving for luxury and extravagance.

Marcos’ home-resort is a clear manifestation of how bureaucrat capitalists exploit their positions in the Philippine government to indulge in privilege. Marcos is odious for using public money to jetset, fly helicopters to avoid road traffic, hold private concerts and other lavish spending.

On top of all this, Marcos has used his power and influence to have corruption charges against their family dismissed one by one, paving the way for the retrieval of hundreds of billions of pesos worth of stolen wealth. At least ₱2.3 billion of people’s money are now back in the pockets of the Marcoses.

The Bahay Pangulo home-resort is a burden built on the backs of the Filipino people. Under Marcos, the broad masses are increasingly burdened with taxes, onerous fees, spiraling prices, low wages, lack of income, and the dispossession of their land and livelihoods.

By having his Malacañang home-resort built, Marcos erected a grave symbol of the oppression of the Filipino people.