Malacañang on Wednesday defended President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.'s attendance at the Formula One (F1) Grand Prix in Singapore, saying the event could help him build relationships with investors and foreign leaders as the Philippine government seeks more investment.

Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro said Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong had personally invited Mr. Marcos to the race, arguing that attending would not distract from the President's official duties.

"If the President attends and watches the F1 Grand Prix at the invitation of the [Singapore] government, that does not mean he is abandoning his work of encouraging investors to invest in the country," she told a livestreamed news briefing in Singapore, speaking in Filipino.

Mr. Marcos is in Singapore from Oct. 7 to 11 for an official visit built around the Forbes Global CEO Conference, a gathering of global business executives, where he is scheduled to speak and pitch investment opportunities in the Philippines.

Ms. Castro said the President would promote investment in digital technology, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, energy and healthcare. He is also expected to meet Mr. Wong and visit the Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Institute as the Philippines studies the use of nuclear energy.

Critics have questioned the optics of the President attending a race amid economic pressures at home. Asked whether taxpayers would shoulder the cost of his F1 attendance, Ms. Castro said the President's official activities in Singapore were intended to benefit the country and that relationships with investors could also be cultivated in informal settings.

Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Medardo Antonio G. Macaraig said the President's presence at the race would entail little additional government spending because he had been invited by the Singaporean leader.

"It's the invitation of Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, so, of course, have almost no expenses there," he said in Filipino. "Of course, he won't pay for a ticket or anything like that."

Mr. Macaraig added that government expenses were largely tied to the Forbes conference and the President's visit to the nuclear research institute.

"Our expenses, as Undersecretary Castro said, come from our coming here because of the Forbes and the Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Institute," he said. "Those are more important, so of course we have expenses there."

The ambassador said he would also attend the race under a separate invitation from the Temasek Foundation.

"I will be there because, first of all, it's an opportunity," he said. "But my invitation is separate from that of the President."

Mr. Macaraig noted that about 220,000 Filipinos live in Singapore and that at least 450 business leaders are expected to attend the Forbes conference.

The Philippines holds the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, while Singapore is set to take over in 2027. The rotating chairmanship sets the bloc's agenda and hosts its key summits, giving Manila's outreach to the incoming chair added diplomatic weight as leadership of the group shifts.

With the visit running through Oct. 11, attention will turn to whether the engagements — the Forbes address, the meeting with Mr. Wong and the nuclear institute visit — produce concrete investment commitments.

The report was originally published by BusinessWorld: "Presidential Palace defends Marcos F1 attendance as part of investor push". — Erika Mae P. Sinaking/BusinessWorld