Marcos meets with Philip Morris execs

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos met recently with officials of international tobacco firm Philip Morris at Malacañang.

Their lunch with Philip Morris International executives took place on Nov. 24, according to the First Lady’s official Facebook page.

Present during the lunch meeting were their son Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos and Philip Morris International chief executive officer Jacek Olcza, a photo posted on the social media page showed.

The setting of the lunch meet resembled a Filipino fiesta as colorful flaglets or banderitas and dancers wearing traditional attire can be seen in the background.

Malacañang has yet to provide information about the topics discussed during the meeting.

In its website, Philip Morris International described itself as one of the world’s leading tobacco companies with a global workforce of 69,600. Philippine affiliate PMFTC Inc. is the leading cigarette manufacturer in the country with some of the top brands in the market including Marlboro and Fortune. PMFTC has about 4,700 employees nationwide.

The President hails from Ilocos Norte, which is part of the Ilocos region, the top producer of tobacco in the country. The region produced 24.02 thousand metric tons of tobacco from April to June this year, accounting for 66 percent of total tobacco production, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.