'Vice President' Bongbong Remark Lights Up Twitter, Who's Behind It?

A tourism official in Ilocos Norte province lit up Twitter on Tuesday after he posted a video of himself introducing former senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr as the country's vice president.

Ilocos Norte is the bailiwick of the Marcos family and Marcos Jr served as its governor before he became senator and later lost to Vice President Leni Robredo in the 2016 elections.

Twitter users swapped photos of the official, Jeff Ortega, showing him with President Rodrigo Duterte and the chief executive's close allies like Sen. Bong Go and actor Robin Padilla.

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Who is Jeff Ortega?

Ortega comes from a political clan. His brother, Pacoy Ortega, is the governor of Ilocos Norte's neighbor, La Union province. He is a director of the Department of Tourism in the Ilocos Region that encompasses both provinces.

To his 134 thousand Instagram followers, he is the boyfriend of actress Jasmine Curtis-Smith and a young entrepreneur to multiple tourism businesses in San Juan, La Union. 

He is the founder and owner of La Union Surf School (LUSS), burger joint Mad Monkeys, and music festival Soul Surf. He even has a drink named after him, the Jeff Ortega's 5-minute drink, in La Union's infamous Flotsam and Jetsam Hostel.

After Ortega trended on Twitter, the Department of Tourism reminded officials and employees "to perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree of excellence and professionalism".