Philippine President Under Fire For Using Helicopter To See Coldplay, Begging The Question Of What's Worse: The Misuse Of Taxpayers' Money Or His Music Taste?

It's a bad day to be Ferdinand Marcos Jr., President of the Phillippines, after it was revealed that he used a helicopter to fly to a Coldplay concert.

There's a lot there for citizens to be upset about. First and foremost, the misuse of taxpayer money. Marcos being a big enough Coldplay fan to take a helicopter to see them won't thrill his constituents either.

Both are bad looks, but which is worse?

Now, I'm not too sure how familiar you are with the greater Manila metropolitan area, but according to The Guardian, traffic there can get pretty bad. In fact, it can get so bad...

How bad is it?!

Manilla traffic can get so bad that 40,000 people trying to hit up a Coldplay show can turn that traffic into “a potential threat to the security of our president,” according to The Presidential Security Group.

I get it. Safety is paramount. If given the choice between being safe and unsafe, I'm going with safe 99 out of 100 times.

There is still a 1% of the time where I want to live on the edge...

Despite the decision to err on the side of safety, activist Renato Reyes called Marcos' decision to hear the vagina candle lady's ex-husband play a song called "Clocks," a "grave insult to millions of Filipino commuters.”

I get that side of it too. That doesn't seem like the most helpful way to use tax dollars.

The President of the Philippines took a helicopter to see this. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Would People Be Less Upset If It Was A Band That Doesn't Suck The Way Coldplay Does?

However, I can't help but feel like Marcos wouldn't be feeling as much heat if he went to see another concert. One from a band that didn't — oh, how should I put this — suck?

If Marcos was like, "Yeah, I hopped in the chopper to go see Paul McCartney," I don't think people would be fired up about it, but they'd get it. I think most people would waste taxpayer dollars to see a Beatle. I certainly would.

However, some glass-half-full folks think the president taking a chopper to see a crappy band may help highlight the city's traffic issues.

“Perhaps the horrendous traffic that forced the first couple to take a helicopter will end the state of denial in the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority about the Philippine capital region having the worst traffic congestion among ‘metros’ in the world,” Philippine Star columnist Ana Marie T Pamintuan wrote.

Maybe it will bring some change. However, a dude that determined to see Coldplay isn't one to care what other people say.

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