Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said on Monday that negative criticisms against the administration, without constructive feedback, do not help in uplifting the country.
IBON Foundation, a local non-profit think tank, gave President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “failing marks” ahead of his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), citing a rise in involuntary hunger rates despite increased financial assistance or “ayuda.”
In response, Castro said that she does not recall the foundation ever giving “passing marks” or rating any administration’s performance as satisfactory. She stressed that the Middle East tensions were the root cause of the country’s oil crisis—an external factor.
“Hindi ko po alam kung mayroon na pong pinasa ang IBON na administrasyon, kasi parang lagi naman silang negatibo. Nadidinig naman po natin kung ano ‘yung mga hinain ng ating mga kababayan, nadidinig po iyan ng Pangulo. Pero tandaan po natin, ang krisis sa Middle East, ito po ay isa sa mga naging—actually ito siguro ang pinakamalaking naging factor kung bakit nagkaroon ng pagtaas ng presyo ng fuel,” she said during an interview on Damdaming Bayan.
The Palace official added that they can only hope that the public appreciates how the government has responded to the fuel crisis, even if the prices of basic goods did rise due to the spike in fuel prices.
“Sana nakikita nila ito (kung paano rumesponde ang gobyerno sa krisis), at ‘yung pagsusumikap na hindi tayo mapatiran ng suplay ng fuel, kahit sabihin natin na tumaas dahil hindi natin mako-kontrol ang presyo ng fuel, pero naa-appreciate ba ito ng IBON? Parang wala namang naa-appreciate ang IBON sa mga ginagawa ng gobyerno. Lahat, laging bagsak,” she said, later adding that it would be best if such organizations offered suggestions if they felt the government was lacking in a number of areas.
“Hindi po sarado ang Pangulo sa mga ganitong suggestion. At ang mga ganitong klaseng negatibo na mga pamumuna, at wala namang binibigay na suggestion, hindi po kasi siya nakakatulong sa ekonomiya at sa bayan,” Castro told the anchors.
“So kailangan po tayong magtulungan dito, hindi lamang po gobyerno,” she added.
On the other hand, the Palace expressed its appreciation for Naga City Mayor and former Vice President Leni Robredo's acknowledgement of the effectiveness of Marcos’ programs and reforms, which she reports are largely felt in her area.
Castro noted that, though Robredo was formerly a competing presidential candidate in 2022, this did not hinder her from making a fair assessment of the current administration’s performance.
“Nakakatuwa po na dating hindi kaalyado ng Pangulo, naging kakompetensya pa sa eleksyon, pero marunong tumingin. Marunong mag-assess kung ano po ang ginagawa ng gobyerno—hindi bulag, hindi nagbibingi-bingihan. May mga tao po talaga, kahit nakikita ang trabaho ng Pangulo, talagang babaliktarin nila ‘yung kuwento, masira lang ang pamahalaan,” she said.
President Marcos will be delivering his fifth SONA today, July 27, at 4:00 p.m.
