A PALACE DINNER, A POWER SHIFT, A FAMILY IN FULL CIRCLE

Yes, they are sooo back.

It was a night of dancing, singing and socializing in Malacañang as President Marcos held a festive inaugural dinner on Thursday night, celebrating his family’s return to the Palace with the country’s rich and powerful, the VIP guest list merging the worlds of politics and business.

The dinner, held at Rizal Hall hours after his noontime oathtaking and capping off the President’s first day in office, started at 7 p.m. and lasted for about two hours, according to former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, a senatorial candidate under the Marcos-led ticket, who was present at the exclusive affair.

Triumphant ensemble

It was followed by a concert featuring the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and world-renowned classical pianist, Cecile Licad, at Kalayaan Hall, which lasted until 1:30 a.m. the following day.

Among the business tycoons in attendance were San Miguel Corp.’s Ramon S. Ang, Cebu Pacific’s Lance Gokongwei, Megaworld’s Andrew and Kevin Tan, Lucio Tan Group’s Michael Tan, Sabin Aboitiz of the Aboitiz Group, Hans Sy and Tessie Sy-Coson, and former Sen. Manny Villar with children Mark and Camille.

From the political circle, the well-wishers included Vice President Sara Duterte; Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sherwin Gatchalian, Robin Padilla, Ronald dela Rosa, Sonny Angara, Grace Poe, Cynthia Villar, JV Ejercito, and Ramon Revilla Jr.; and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.

Members of the Marcos family, of course, completed the triumphant ensemble, led by the President’s mother and former first lady Imelda Marcos and his sister Sen. Imee Marcos; the new first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and their sons Sandro, Vinny and Simon.

Golden souvenirs

On the sumptuous menu were chicken tinola, prawn in roasted coconut cream and seared prime beef tenderloin with caldereta sauce.

But what made the most buzz on social media the following day were the souvenirs for the guests: golden medallions bearing Mr. Marcos’ image on one side and the presidential seal on the other side.

Fireworks

A short video clip of the evening that also circulated online showed women in cocktail dresses and men in barong Tagalog dancing the night away.

In her Instagram account, Sen. Imee Marcos posted a photo of her and son Borgy that was taken inside the Palace that day, behind them the official portrait of the family patriarch, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., whose last moments in Malacañang on Feb. 25, 1986, were that of turmoil, defiance, and eventually resignation and hasty departure at the climax of the Edsa People Power Revolution.

Thirty-six years later, another video of Thursday’s party, shared by Revilla, seemed to sum up how things have gone full circle: it showed Ferdinand Sr.’s son and namesake—and his bevy of guests—enjoying the fireworks over Malacañang, as the martial law-era anthem “Bagong Lipunan” played in the background.