Malacañang on Monday said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. remains focused on performing his duties despite a sharp decline in his trust and performance ratings, attributing the drop to the spread of fake news targeting the administration.
In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the President is not concerned by the latest Pulse Asia survey results, which showed his performance rating fall by 17 percentage points—from 42 percent in February to 25 percent in March—alongside a 21-point increase in his disapproval rating, now at 53 percent.
“Hindi po nabahala ang pangulo sa anumang ratings o survey. Ang pangulo, kahit anuman ang rating—mataas o mababa—magpapatuloy siya sa kanyang trabaho,” Castro said.
“Hindi po siya mapapahinto ng anumang survey. Ang gagawin lang ng pangulo ay gumawa ng naaayon sa batas at magtrabaho ng tama,” she added.
Castro also highlighted the role of online disinformation in shaping public opinion, saying the administration is actively addressing the issue. She noted that President Marcos recently met with Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) officials in Malacañang to tackle the spread of fake news and improve internet connectivity across the country.
“Sumasalamin din po ito sa impluwensiya ng mga fake news… Ang mga respondents bang ito ay nakakatanggap ng mga totoong news? O naiimpluwensiyahan ng fake news?” Castro asked.
She further pointed out that the 2,400 respondents in the survey do not fully represent the overall sentiment of the Filipino population.