President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emphasized the need to personally verify the outcomes of government projects rather than relying solely on internal reports, admitting he had been misled at times by members of his administration.

In the second episode of his podcast Accountability, Marcos said:

“At any level of government, you receive a report, which will say, we finished the project, this is what we spent, there’s a nice picture. But when you go to it, it’s different. It’s really different.”

He acknowledged that while some reports weren’t outright lies, the situation on the ground often told another story.

“You know that person is not lying to you... [but] the other side is that I was fooled by these fools. You know that these people are not reliable. Let’s find someone else.”

Marcos stressed that seeing the actual results is “still important,” recounting how he’s dealt with officials who failed to meet expectations over his three years in office.

“We just don’t announce it. For me, this is work. If you’re not helping, get out of the way. If you’re not helping us, just get out of here,” he said. “You can do whatever you want, but let us work... so I can do my job.”

He also likened effective leadership to a military command structure: “We have to be very, very strict. Look, even if you are my friend, I love you and everything, but you cannot do the job. This is not just about the friendship... this is for service to the public.”

Looking ahead, Marcos vowed to be “very, very conscientious” in making sure government targets are met — not just the high-profile legacy projects in transport and agriculture, but also the “small things that we see whenever we walk.”

He urged fellow officials to remain sensitive to public reaction in everything they do, warning that even seemingly minor issues can erode public trust.