First Lady takes Chiz’s wine glass at Palace reception

MANILA, Philippines — A video clip showing First Lady Liza Marcos drinking from the wine glass of Senate President Francis Escudero during last Wednesday’s vin d’honneur is circulating online.

The viral clip, spliced from a Radio Television Malacañang video and posted on social media, showed Liza taking the wine glass Escudero was holding, sipping the wine and then handing the glass back to him.

A longer version of the video showed that the incident happened as Liza and President Marcos entered the Malacañang ceremonial hall for the annual reception for diplomats.

Some social media users remarked that Escudero, who assumed the Senate leadership last month after the resignation of Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri as Senate president, was treated like a waiter. Malacañang has yet to issue a statement on the matter.

The Senate president laughed off the incident and said, “I consider waiting on a lady (first or otherwise) to be gentlemanly.”

“Others may say that it is natural of me to be ‘under (henpecked),’ but for me, it is never too old-school to be gentlemanly and sociable,” Escudero said in Filipino.

The incident made the Senate president a top trending topic on X, where netizens accused the first lady of being impolite or unecessarily projecting power.

The vin d’honneur was one of the activities in the commemoratation of the 126th anniversary of Philippine independence.