Palace: Marcos unfazed by ups and downs in approval rating

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Wednesday said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. remains unfazed by fluctuations in his public approval ratings, insisting that his priority is to work for Filipinos rather than improving his survey numbers.

Palace press officer Claire Castro said that while numbers do not matter for the president, the members of his Cabinet, who are his alter-egos, should use them to improve services to Filipinos.

“Whether the numbers go up or down, the President is not affected by them. His focus is to work, not on taking vacation,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said.

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: Palace: Duterte’s remarks are national security concerns, not just threats

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

“Whatever needs to be delivered to our fellow Filipinos, that is what the President and this administration will continue to do,” she added.

Marcos is currently in Singapore for a working visit until Thursday.

He is scheduled on Wednesday to make a courtesy call on Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, and to have business meetings with leaders of industry.

Malacañang’s response came after Marcos’ net satisfaction rating improved across all areas in June, according to the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: Marcos’ net satisfaction rating rises to -7 in June

The SWS survey conducted from June 20 to June 29 found that 38 percent of adult Filipino respondents were satisfied with the President’s performance, up from 33 percent in March.

Article continues after this advertisement

On the other hand, 45 percent were dissatisfied with his performance, down from 49 percent in March while around 17 percent were undecided, barely moving from 18 percent three months ago.

The resulting net satisfaction rating (percent satisfied minus percent dissatisfied) for June was -7, classified by the SWS as “neutral.” The June score was eight points up from Mr. Marcos’ personal record-low “poor” score of -15 in March.

According to Malacañang, Marcos was not disregarding survey results, and instead directed members of the Cabinet to use these numbers as a guide to improve government services provided to Filipinos.

“The members of the Cabinet also look at these surveys to determine what programs or issues need to be pushed further and what areas require greater attention,” Castro said.

But for Marcos, whether the survey results improve or decline, they do not affect him.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

“In the first place, he will not be running for President again in the next election. So, the President simply remains focused on his work,” Castro said. /mr