President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Friday that public opinion surveys would not determine the direction of his administration, saying he bases policy decisions on what he considers to be in the country’s best interest.
Speaking at a presidential luncheon hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines at the Diamond Hotel Philippines in Manila, Marcos said survey results do not determine whether a government decision is right or wrong.
“And a survey doesn’t really come into it because it does not determine the rightness or wrongness of what I’m trying to do or what my government is trying to do,” Marcos said.
“I don’t change my decision because of the survey. I don’t change direction because of the survey. I take a decision because what I feel is the proper decision to make,” he added.
Marcos said he still takes note of survey results as a politician but considers them only to a limited extent.
He said favorable results are welcome and poor ratings are something he wishes were better, but these do not affect how he performs his duties.
“Of course, you care. You’re a politician. But only to a very small extent,” Marcos said, adding that he moves on and returns to work after briefly considering the results.
Trust in government
Marcos also identified restoring public confidence in government and rebuilding a culture of nation-building among the goals he hopes his administration will achieve before his term ends in 2028.
Asked about the legacy he wants to leave, Marcos said he does not usually focus on the concept of legacy, which he associated with what remains after a person’s lifetime.
“Legacy is when you die. I just hope we will put the faith of people back in government, and that we now have a government that people can depend on, people can trust, and that people can talk to,” Marcos said.
He said government should listen to citizens and respond to their concerns rather than simply dictate what they should do.
Marcos also emphasized the role of local governments in making public services more responsive.
He said local governments are important partners of the national government because they have a closer understanding of the concerns facing their communities and can develop solutions suited to local conditions.
“That will make government more accessible, not only in terms of transparency, but accessible in terms of we can bring our concerns to government. And we have enough confidence that they will in fact do something about it,” Marcos said.
Photo courtesy of Inquirer.net
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