MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. marked First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos’ 67th birthday with a deeply personal public message, declaring August 21 a special “Liza Day” and describing it as one of the most important dates on his calendar.
The President posted the birthday tribute on social media on Friday, August 21, sharing photographs of himself with the First Lady, including an older family picture featuring their three sons.
“My dear Liza, we’re celebrating today a most important day in the calendar; Liza Day!”
Marcos followed the message by calling his wife the “First Lady of every day of my life… and beyond.”
The unusually personal message quickly became the centerpiece of reports about the First Lady’s birthday, offering a glimpse of the Marcos family away from the formal ceremonies and political activities normally associated with Malacañang.
First Lady Liza Marcos Turns 67, Not 66
Some reports circulating online identified the occasion as Araneta-Marcos’ 66th birthday, but official biographical information establishes that she was born on August 21, 1959, in Manila. She therefore turned 67 years old on August 21, 2026.
GMA News, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and The Philippine Star likewise reported her age as 67.
Araneta-Marcos is a lawyer and former law professor who became First Lady when her husband assumed the presidency on June 30, 2022.
She graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 1981 before earning her law degree from the same university in 1985.
Birthday Greeting Comes After ‘Sabbatical’ Controversy
The celebratory message arrived just days after the First Lady became the subject of online criticism over a social media post announcing that she was taking a weeklong “birthday sabbatical.”
On August 17, Araneta-Marcos said she planned to temporarily step away from makeup, formal ternos, heels, speeches, official photographs, meetings and her regular schedule as she took time to “slow down, recharge and enjoy the quiet.”
But the timing of the post drew criticism because several parts of the Philippines were dealing with flooding caused by heavy rains associated with the southwest monsoon, or Habagat.
Some social media users described the post as insensitive or poorly timed amid the difficulties confronting flood-affected communities.
Malacañang subsequently addressed the criticism.
Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said the administration understood why some people may have been disappointed by the timing or wording of the post but stressed that the First Lady did not intend to send a negative message.
The Philippine Star reported that Castro also pointed to Araneta-Marcos’ public-service initiatives, including rice distributions for senior citizens and LAB for ALL, a program providing free medical and other government services to communities.
More Than Three Decades Together
Marcos and Araneta-Marcos have been married for more than three decades.
The couple married on April 17, 1993, at the San Francesco Convent in Fiesole, Italy, according to The Philippine Star. They have three sons: Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos, Joseph Simon Marcos and William Vincent Marcos.
Their relationship began years before Marcos returned to the Philippines’ highest political office. Araneta-Marcos’ official biography says the couple met in New York, where she was pursuing postgraduate studies. She later built a career as a lawyer and educator before assuming a much more visible public role following her husband’s 2022 presidential victory.
From Private Celebration to Public Conversation
What was intended as a brief birthday tribute has therefore landed amid a wider public conversation surrounding the First Lady.
For supporters, the President’s “Liza Day” message was simply an affectionate tribute from a husband to his wife of more than 33 years.
For critics, however, the celebration comes against the backdrop of questions about the First Lady’s earlier birthday-sabbatical post and how public officials—and members of the First Family—communicate during disasters.
Either way, Marcos kept his actual birthday message away from politics and controversy.
His focus was unmistakably personal: after decades together, August 21 remains, in the President’s words, the “most important day in the calendar.”
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