President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos will mark nearly four decades of spending Valentine’s Day together but there is no power formula on how they have maintained a healthy and long-lasting relationship.

The President said direct communication is one of the keys to their successful marriage.

“Don’t communicate through your phone. Talk to each other face-to-face. Don’t bother with social media when it comes to relationships. Talk to each other face-to-face, hold hands, go have dinner, walk down the beach, do something, but don’t do it digitally,” the President said during a nine-minute special Valentine’s Day vlog, titled “Ask Us Anything,” uploaded on the internet on Sunday.

The President said he always ensures quality time with the First Lady despite their hectic schedules.

“Well, mahirap talaga ‘yung balanse dahil work takes up so much of our time. Well, hindi lang naman ako, pati si Liza marami talagang ginagawa. (Well, it’s really difficult because work takes up so much of our time. Well, it’s not just me, Liza is also doing a lot.) So, we try to find five minutes here, 20 minutes there, we eat together,” Marcos said.

Responding to one of the questions from netizens, the First Lady said the President cooks for them at home and if time permits, they have a “date night” every Wednesday where they dine out and just “talk about funny things to lessen the stress.”

“We just try – I suppose to be with each other as much as possible. And as I said earlier, snatch what little time there is in our — both our busy schedule(s) to spend time with one another. It’s really time because it’s, of course, the most valuable thing of all,” the President said.

The President added that keeping their sense of humor and seeing the lighter side of things keep their relationship healthy.

The First Lady said they do not allow stress to consume them and they don’t get into fights or arguments.

They consider the presidency as the most unforgettable adventure that they have done together.

“This is the biggest thing that I’ve been involved in. Being President and having Liza as First Lady. In very many ways it is an adventure and it’s something that a very few people have the privilege of experiencing. That is why it is also unforgettable,” Marcos said.

The President met the First Lady, already a practicing lawyer then, in New York in 1986. They got married in Italy in 1993.

The President, meanwhile, commended the First Lady’s “Lab for All” project which is dedicated to the less fortunate, especially in far-flung provinces where people cannot afford to undergo medical checkups.

The First Lady said every Tuesday, the “Lab” goes to a different province.

“The mobile van is there and all the different agencies like DOH (Department of Health), TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority), the different government agencies. But more important the private sector. They go there three days before and they give medical services which is part of their CSR (corporate social responsibility),” she said. (PNA)