Marcos to inefficient gov’t officials: Get out of the way

If you're not helping, get out of the way.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. issued the warning to government officials during his weekly podcast, saying he will never hesitate in firing people if they are not able to do well in their respective jobs.

“We have to be very, very strict. Look, kahit kaibigan kita, mahal kita at lahat, pero hindi mo nagagawa yung trabaho, eh. Hindi naman ito tungkol sa pagkakaibigan o pagmamahal natin sa isa't isa kung hindi para sa serbisyo para sa tao,” the President said when asked about his recent Cabinet revamp, initially called a bold reset before it was tempered to continued assessment.

(Even if you are my friend, I love you and all that, if you can't do your job...this is not about friendship but public service.)

“Ako, trabaho ito. If you're not helping, get out of the way. Kung 'di mo kami tutulungan, umalis ka na lang dito. Gawin mo ang gusto mong gawin pero pabayaan mo kami magtrabaho. That's my attitude all the time,” he added.

(This is a job. If you are not helping us, you have to leave. You can do whatever you want but let us do our jobs.)

Marcos, however, said that getting out of the way does not necessarily mean permanent banishment.

“So whatever 'get out of the way' means—you're fired or ifu-floating ka, o ililipat ka sa ibang part of the government. Whatever it is, just get out of the way so I can do my job,” Marcos said.

(It's either you are fired, placed on a floating status, or you will be transferred.) 

“Ayoko talaga yung 'business as usual'. Ngayon, talagang we will be very, very conscientious of hitting our targets on time and that's the important thing. That applies not only to the very big legacy projects— yung malalaking transportation project, yung malalaking agricultural project, yung malalaking project— hindi lang yun kung hindi yung mga maliliit na bagay na dapat pag naglalakad ka may nakita kang walang basurahan dito, dapat lagyan ng basurahan. Bakit yung hagdan hindi maayos, madulas, baka may masaktan. Bakit yung escalator natin hindi gumagana, paano aakitin ng mga matatanda 'yan?” Marcos added.

(I don't really like business as usual, for both big and small projects. If there are not enough trash bins, we have to provide those. If the stairs and escalators are faulty, we have to fix it, especially for the elderly.)

Marcos also said that he plans to do more site visits because the reports that reach him do not always reflect the reality on the ground.

"At any level of government, it's very different to receive...you receive a report, there’s nice photos, pero pag pinuntahan mo, iba. Iba talaga. [Pwedeng] totoo pala ‘yung report, maganda yung report. Alam mo na yung taong yun hindi nagsisinungaling sa iyo. The other side is binola ako ng mga lokong ito,” he said.

(There are times when stories are different on the ground. The report can truly reflect the situation, but there are also cases when you are being taken for a ride.)

“[Kung] alam mo na itong mga 'to...hindi reliable yan, maghanap tayo ng iba. So it's still important to go and see things for yourself. Of course you read all the reports, but iba-ibang accuracy rating kung minsan,” he added.

(If you know that the person is unreliable, it is time to look for a replacement. Of course, I read all the reports, but their accuracy varies.) — BM, GMA Integrated News