‘Public interest, not high ratings, is bedrock of public service’

MANILA, Philippines — Reacting to the recent Pulse Asia survey results, Malacañang said public interest was the “sole driver” behind every executive decision, not the pursuit of high ratings in the next opinion polls.

“High popularity ratings are the bonus and not the bedrock of effective public service,” Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said in a statement.

“True leadership always carries with it the burden to pursue courses of action which are right, but may not be popular,” he added.

Bersamin said the Marcos administration respects surveys as “dipstick readings of the well of public opinion,” but believes that the governance scorecard should not be confined to polls alone.

“To consider surveys as the sole indicator is to take our focus away from the more important metrics, like employment, that reliably measure our progress as a nation,” the executive secretary said.

The recent decline in the approval and trust ratings of top government officials may be due to the recent political environment in the country, Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes said yesterday.

“Definitely, we can say that it has an impact. Surely, no one would be happy if the two highest-ranking officials of your country are fighting,” Holmes said in Filipino, as he explained the results of their latest survey in an interview with “Storycon” aired on One News.

“You would not want to see national politicians continually bickering, and that might lead towards withdrawal of trust or an expression of disapproval in terms of their performance,” he added.

The survey, conducted by Pulse Asia from Nov. 26 to Dec. 3, showed a significant decline in the performance and trust ratings of President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte. — Sheila Crisostomo