Marcos slammed over use of presidential chopper for Coldplay concert

'Grave insult to commuters'

Criticisms were hurled at the president due to this, with some social media users expressing their disappointment.

Mental health advocate and psychologist Dr. Gia Sison, said that Marcos should at least make "himself driven" and "experience first hand Manila traffic."

"Not even an emergency, he should have just have himself driven and experienced firsthand Manila traffic pero comfort lagi ang iniisip nito. Paguunlad left the room," she wrote on X.

The non-profit organization PISTON also wrote about its heavy-heartedness toward the executive chief's action.

"Sabi ng DOTr (Department of Transportation), marami naman daw other modes of transport na available, like...idk...helicopters???" the group said.

Meanwhile, other online users drew comparisons to the experience of regular concertgoers, while a number of them slammed the president for supposedly using tax money to watch the show.

"I, a regular Filipino taxpayer in the Philippines, go through heavy traffic as I ride a shuttle, a rela, a jeep, and sometimes a taxi in my daily commute while our country's president BBM rides a helicopter using my tax money to easily get to where he wants/needs to be," a user said on X.

"BBM rode a helicopter otw to coldplay...are these our taxes chz sana all hindi natrtraffic," another X user wrote.

Renato Reyes Jr. of Bagong Alyansa Makabayan called this justification "a grave insult to millions of Filipino commuters."

Other users noted that Coldplay Music of the Spheres global tour encouraged environmental sustainability through measures like electricity-generating power bikes and that a private chopper isn't the most eco-friendly mode of transportation to the show.

"All the effort of Coldplay and their team in promoting sustainability while on tour, finding a way to make that work here in the Philippines, only for this asshole to fly in a chopper probably funded by… take a wild guess!"

Following the various criticisms received online, the Presidential Security Command (PSC) Commander MGen. Nelson Morales defended the presidential chopper use, saying it was vital to protect the president from the heavy traffic, especially with the "unprecedented influx" of 40,000 concertgoers caused by the traffic jam.

"Recognizing that this traffic situation posed a potential threat to the security of our President, the PSG took decisive action by opting for the presidential chopper," the statement reads, issued on Saturday, Jan. 20.

One of Marcos' supporters seconded this, saying his "safety is top priority."

"A president of every country is an important person, safety is their top priority [because] they're leading a whole nation and a lot of people are dependent on them, also that's faster transportation for his [schedule]," they wrote.

'You've come through that b*llshit to be here'

It wasn't just Filipino fans who experienced the traffic—Coldplay, too, and the band's vocalist Chris Martin even addressed it during the show.

"We'd like to say thank you so much for all of you for coming through the traffic, holy shit! I think, you know, we've seen some traffic. But I think you have the number one in the world. You've come through that bullshit to be here," he said.

In a video of one of the concertgoers posted online, Marcos was seen seemingly embarrassed, smiling and covering his face with his palms after Martin made the remark, which drew cheers from the audience.

In TomTom's 2023 Traffic Index, Metro Manila topped the rankings for having the world's worst traffic in a metro area. Local motorists in Manila spent an average travel time of 25 minutes and 30 seconds per 10 kilometers last year. This is 50 seconds longer than it took to cover the same distance in 2022.