{"id":18723,"date":"2026-02-14T14:45:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T06:45:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/?p=18723"},"modified":"2026-02-14T14:45:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T06:45:32","slug":"president-marcos-valentines-advice-strong-marriages-are-built-on-friendship-bigayan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/2026\/02\/14\/president-marcos-valentines-advice-strong-marriages-are-built-on-friendship-bigayan\/","title":{"rendered":"PRESIDENT MARCOS’ VALENTINE\u2019S ADVICE: STRONG MARRIAGES ARE BUILT ON FRIENDSHIP, ‘BIGAYAN’"},"content":{"rendered":"

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Valentine\u2019s Day shared personal reflections on love and marriage, advising couples that lasting relationships are built on \u201cbigayan\u201d or mutual understanding, and stressing that true friendship is the foundation of a strong partnership.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In his BBM Vlog episode 277, President Marcos advised couples to \u201cenjoy each other\u2019s company. You know, it is rare to find someone\u2026that you care for and cares for you, who you have a very nice time together. \u2018Yun na nga bumalik tayo doon sa konsepto ng friendship. That\u2019s what you should try to find. And once you have found it and it\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day, enjoy it to the fullest. It is a lovely feeling.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The President also answered questions from youth groups about love, marriage, and family life, drawing on more than three decades of marriage to First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos.<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Marcos emphasized that making time for each other despite busy schedules, nurturing friendship, and doing small, thoughtful acts are key to sustaining a long and healthy relationship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPalagay ko alam na ito ng matagal nang mag-asawa, ang sikreto lang diyan\u2014hindi naman talaga sikreto\u2014ay dapat bigayan. Hindi naman pare-pareho ang lahat ng tao. Dapat nagbibigayan lang at nagkakaunawaan ang mag-asawa. Hindi puwedeng \u201cmy way or no way,\u201d dahil kapag ganoon, may isang laging malungkot. Kaya bigayan lang,\u201d President Marcos advised the youth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The President acknowledged the festive mood across the country, noting crowded malls and restaurants filled with couples on dates. President Marcos also highlighted the busy vendors selling flowers and gifts and, despite heavy traffic, expressed hope that everyone was enjoying the day, emphasizing that love and goodwill should prevail on this occasion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the question of how the first couple and their kids balance work and family, the President acknowledged that nearly everyone in the family has demanding commitments, making it difficult to carve out even a single day together.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIsa na ito sa pinakamahirap na gawin dahil halos lahat ng pamilya ko, we are all very busy. I\u2019m very busy. The first lady is very busy. \u2018Yung mga anak ko are also very busy. Kung minsan mahirap makabuo ng kahit ng sandali, kahit linggo may ginagawa, isang araw lang o mag-dinner man lang. Basta\u2019t meron kaming opportunity na magsama, we take it. Hindi namin maplano talaga kung minsan. Kung minsan biglaan na lang. Uy, it turns out libre tayong lahat. O sige sige magkita tayo. We\u2019ll do something together,\u201d President Marcos said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The President explained that family gatherings are often spontaneous\u2014sometimes a long-weekend trip to Ilocos or another destination\u2014to spend quality time as a family of five, regardless of other commitments. President Marcos admitted it is not always easy, but emphasized that they do their best to prioritize being together.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When asked about a love song that represents their relationship, President Marcos said that while there may not be a song that perfectly captures their story, they consider \u201cMoonlight in Vermont,\u201d sung by Sarah Vaughan, special because it was played during one of their first dates in New York.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Addressing a current trend where young people share how they risked friendships by confessing romantic feelings using Taylor Swift\u2019s song \u201cRuin the Friendship,\u201d the President said he does not believe in \u201cruining\u201d a friendship and explained that while moving from friendship to romance is part of what the song describes, the foundation of any strong relationship is a true friendship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that ruins the friendship. I understand what Taylor Swift is trying to say, that you move away from the friend zone and you become boyfriend, girlfriend, jowa, whatever you want to call it. But for me, the basis of any good relationship is true friendship. The best relationships I\u2019ve seen have all been started by being friends,\u201d President Marcos noted.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYung sinasabi nga, nade-develop yan. Pero kung hindi kayo magkaibigan, you don\u2019t have fun with each other. You don\u2019t enjoy each other\u2019s company, and you don\u2019t amuse each other. You don\u2019t \u2018yung kagaya \u2018yung linya sa sine, you complete me. If that doesn\u2019t happen, mahirap talagang magkaroon ng ng pagsasama. So I think it should be based on a real and true friendship,\u201d the President said.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Valentine’s Day shared personal reflections on love and marriage, advising couples that lasting relationships are built on “bigayan” or mutual<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18723"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18723"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18725,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18723\/revisions\/18725"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}