‘Sawa na sa pulitika’: Marcos reflects on poll results

Metro Manila, Philippines - The people are done with too much politicking and want the government to do its job in delivering much-needed services and attend to their needs, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in reflecting on the outcome of the midterm elections.

Only six of the 11 administration-backed Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas candidates secured Senate seats in contrast to pre-election surveys that projected as many as eight or nine winners.

“Para sa akin, I have two conclusions sa eleksyon. Una, nagsawa na ang Pilipino sa politika. Sawan-sawa na sa politika. Ang mensahe sa aming lahat, hindi lamang sa akin: tama na yung pamumulitika ninyo at kami naman ang asikasuhin ninyo,” Marcos said in a podcast interview,

[Translation: For me, I have two conclusions from the election. First, Filipinos are tired of politics — absolutely fed up. The message to all of us, not just to me, is this: stop the politicking and start focusing on us.]

The President added that the public sentiment sends a strong signal for politicians to end political drama and return to the work of governance.

“Tama na yung politika. Gawin na natin lahat ng kailangang gawin,” he said.

[Translation: Enough of politics. Let’s do everything that needs to be done.]

Marcos said the second major lesson from the polls is the public’s growing frustration over slow and inefficient government service.

“Disappointed ang tao sa serbisyo ng gobyerno. Hindi nila nararamdaman at masyadong mabagal ang galaw ng pagbubuo ng mga project,” he said, noting that large-scale infrastructure projects take time to make an impact.

[Translation: People are disappointed in the government’s service. They don’t feel it, and the rollout of projects is just too slow.]

He explained that early on in his term, he made a deliberate choice to prioritize long-term, high-impact programs over quick wins.

“Kaya tinignan ko yung malalaking mahihirap na proyekto na long term ang magiging effect. Yun ang trabahuhin natin,” he said.

[Translation: That’s why I focused on large, difficult projects that will have long-term effects. That’s what we need to work on.]