Sunday’s fun day for people at Malacañang

President Arroyo and First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo "soft-launched" yesterday a weekly program for families promenading Palace grounds.

Surrounded by children, the First Couple took the front seats off a makeshift stage, set up along the road leading to Malacañang, and watched a lively show of Filipiniana song and dance by the Bayanihan Philippine Folk Dance Company.

"I want Malacañang to be the Palace of the people, not the Palace for leaders. We want the people to come not because they need something but to enjoy the place or to jog," the President said, referring to the Presidential Action Center which she personally mans on Fridays.

"On Sundays, this is a good place to come to because (it’s) just like Luneta," she said.

She said the program, which was organized by the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) and the National Commission on Culture and Arts (NCCA), is a way of opening Malacañang to the poor people.

During a Bayanihan number, Mr. Arroyo pulled aside three-year-old Jejil Aquino of Matienza Street in Barangay Malacañang and sat her on the lap of the President.

As a finale, the First Couple gamely participated in the program by dancing with members of the Bayanihan Dancers.

Others who performed on stage were the Presidential Security Group Band and the Philippine Normal University Choir. Other events include puppet shows and masses in the mornings.

The PMS said not a single centavo will be spent for the weekly event as those performing will not be charging the government.

The Sunday performances have been scheduled at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to allow children to play with clowns between shows.