MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. defended his administration’s investigation into alleged corruption as public approval and trust ratings declined at the end of 2025, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the President will not be swayed by lower survey ratings if the decline is due to his efforts to investigate anomalous flood control projects, which she described as a “right decision” even if unpopular.

“Kung ang dahilan ng pagbaba ng rating ng Pangulo ay dahil sa ginagawa niya sa pagpapaimbestiga sa mga sangkot sa maanomalyang flood control projects na nakakaapekto sa ekonomiya na nagiging sanhi ng political noise, hindi iindahin ng Pangulo ang pagbaba ng rating dahil sa ang ginawa niya ay isang RIGHT DECISION na maaaring hindi POPULAR decision dahil maraming maaapektuhang tao at politiko,” Castro said.

She added that Marcos is aware the investigations may affect his administration but emphasized that the inquiries are “for the bayan and para sa mamamayan.”

Recent Pulse Asia survey results from December 12-15, 2025, showed 48 percent of Filipino adults disapproved of Marcos’ performance, while 34 percent expressed approval. In contrast, Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio had a 56 percent approval rating and 24 percent disapproval. Trust ratings placed Marcos at 32 percent and Duterte at 54 percent.

Castro noted that while former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration enjoyed high approval and trust ratings, corruption issues were allegedly not confronted during that time. “Mataas nga ang rating ng nakaraang administrasyon sa loob ng anim (6) na taon pero may mga kickbacks bang naisuli o nakasuhan kahit maraming ghost projects as early as 2020?” she said.

In a separate PAHAYAG 2025 End-of-the-Year Survey, Marcos’ approval rating slipped to 22 percent from 24 percent, while his trust rating fell to 15 percent from 17 percent. The steepest declines were observed in the National Capital Region, Luzon, voters aged 18 to 29, and government employees.

Duterte-Carpio maintained a stable approval rating of 34 percent, with a slight decline in trust to 31 percent from 32 percent. Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo saw his approval rebound to 20 percent, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III recorded 24 percent, and House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III debuted with 12 percent approval. Trust ratings across officials remained low, with Marcos and Sotto at 15 percent, Dy at 8 percent, and Gesmundo at 11 percent.

The survey cited perceptions of inaction on governance issues—such as the slow pace of flood control investigations, lack of prosecutions of implicated officials, and handling of International Criminal Court proceedings related to former President Duterte—as factors affecting Marcos’ public standing. Allegations of drug use raised by Senator Imee Marcos and his refusal to undergo a hair follicle drug test also reportedly influenced public trust.

The PAHAYAG 2025 survey was conducted nationwide from December 7 to 10, 2025, with 1,500 registered Filipino voters selected from the PureSpectrum panel, a US-based market research platform with a regional office in Singapore.