Malacañang: Marcos listens to legit concerns about his governance

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. listens to the public's valid concerns about his governance, Malacañang said Thursday, following the release of Pulse Asia's latest trust and approval ratings of the government's highest officials.

In a press brieifing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said these concerns include the call for a fare hike and the need to lower electricity rates, both of which were not prompted by surveys.

"Patungkol sa mga ganyan, mayroon tayong nadidinig, mga lehitimong panawagan," Castro said.

(On matters like these, we hear legitimate calls from the public.)

Released on Thursday, a survey of Pulse Asia Research Inc. showed that trust and approval ratings of the President rose slightly, while Vice President Sara Duterte's counterpart numbers declined in September 2026.

The survey, conducted from September 17 to 24, 2026, found that Marcos' approval and trust ratings both climbed 1 percentage point to 30% and 29%, respectively. Compared to July 2026, the September 2026 survey showed that Marcos' disapproval rating slightly dipped by 3 percentage points.

However, nearly half of Filipino adults, or 48%, were found to distrust Marcos. Only 29% showed big trust in him, while 22% were undecided.

Balancing act

Castro explained that, like in implementing a fare hike, the President aims to balance the need to address the public's concerns with other considerations.

"Binabalanse ng Pangulo ang mga sinasagawang proyekto at programa. Hindi pwedeng isa lang 'yung nanalo, lahat dapat na nanalo. So ito 'yung mga bagay-bagay na the President listens," Castro said.

(The President balances the implementation of projects and programs. It cannot be that only one side benefits; everyone should benefit. These are the things that the President listens to.)

To recall, Marcos said his administration does not perform based on surveys.

"Hindi ganoon ang approach namin. We don't work according to surveys, not really," Marcos said.

"What we do is… 'Pag may nagrereklamo sinasabi, mahaba ang pila sa PhilHealth, ano ang puwede nating gawin para mas maginhawa?" the President said.

(That's not our approach. We don't work according to surveys, not really. What we do is... if there are complaints and they say there's a long line at PhilHealth, we study what can we do to ease this.)

Easing hunger

Following the Social Weather Stations' (SWS) survey on hunger, Castro said it is important to identify the areas most affected by hunger to determine where assistance should be targeted.

"Mas gugustuhin nating malaman sa result na ito saan 'yung lugar na apektado pa ng sinasabing kagutuman. Baka ito 'yung mga lugar na hindi pa naabot or nakapag-a-avail ng mga programa ng gobyerno," Castro said.

(We would rather use these results to identify areas still affected by hunger, as these may be places that have yet to be reached by or benefit from government programs.)

She also cited government programs in addressing hunger, including the Walang Gutom Program, Food Stamp Program, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipnos Program, and Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers.

An SWS report showed that the number of Filipino families who experienced hunger rose in the past three months compared with the second quarter of 2026.

It showed that 22.6% of Filipino families experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months, which is 2.3 percentage points up from 20.3% in June 2026. — VDV, GMA News