Marcos at midterm: 'I want to be respected, but maybe fear is better'

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May 19, 2025 | 5:53pm

MANILA, Philippines — “I want to be respected but maybe fear is better.”  

This is what President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had to say at the midway point of his presidency. In a new podcast launched following a surprise loss from many of his senatorial slates in the 2025 midterm polls, Marcos expressed frustration: both at the results of the elections and at the rules governing his presidency. 

For Marcos, the polls taught him a lesson: that people were tired of politics. They wanted to see the government at work. 

“Disappointed ang tao sa serbisyo ng gobyerno. Hindi nila nararamdaman at masyadong mabagal ang galaw,” Marcos said. 

(The people are disappointed in the government. They do not feel the movem  ent because it is too slow.) 

The president acknowledged focusing on long-term projects, which may have limited emphasis on more immediate concerns like food prices and healthcare access.

But Marcos’ frustrations didn’t stop at the elections.

He joked with friends who are corporate titans that when they want something done, it gets done right away. In his case, he said, even a simple directive runs into red tape.

“Pagka-inutos ng CEO, nung boss, tapos na. Pagka ako nag-utos, marami pa ako kukumbinsihin,” Marcos said. (If the CEO, the boss, asks for it, it is finished immediately. If I want something done, I need to do a lot of convincing.)

He added that while checks and balances are necessary, they shouldn’t paralyze government service.

Too nice for his own good? 

As Taberna put it, Marcos was seen as too nice—a perception that may have allowed corruption to thrive and slowed down government services, as officials reportedly don’t fear him.

To this, Marcos replied that he couldn’t change his personality.

Still, he said that whenever corruption is validated, the person is removed. He admitted, however, that these removals are not publicly announced.

Over the past few years, Marcos has replaced several Cabinet secretaries. In 2022 alone, he removed lawyer Vic Rodriguez as Executive Secretary—a move that has since turned Rodriguez into one of his most vocal critics.

The president has also sacked three Presidential Communications Office secretaries. He also replaced his chief officials for the transportation, information and communications technology, and trade and industry. However, the Palace has never explicitly said that these secretaries were replaced due to suspected corruption. 

A performance review is underway, and Marcos said several officials may soon be replaced.

But the question remains: Is Marcos too nice for his own good?

His demeanor is a stark contrast to that of his predecessor, President Rodrigo Duterte. Marcos often takes the gentleman’s route—avoiding confrontation and presenting himself as someone who would take the high road no matter what.

Yet under his administration, it was Duterte—once an ally, now a vocal critic—who was sent to the International Criminal Court over his bloody war on drugs. Marcos said the move was a matter of fulfilling obligations to the international community, though his fiercest critics view it as politically motivated.

Going back further, Marcos is the son of the Ferdinand Marcos Sr., called an autocrat. The current president’s namesake ruled the Philippines during Martial Law with an iron fist, with at least 2,300 people killed or disappeared during his term. The younger Marcos has never disavowed his father’s regime, instead recalling it with fondness and describing Martial Law as necessary at the time.