President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. came to the defense of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla who was criticized for his informal and playful style of announcing class and work suspensions caused by the southwest monsoon and tropical cyclone “Crising.”

In an interview with reporters in Washington, D.C., Marcos said he saw no problem with Remulla’s way of speaking “as long as he gets the message across.”

“Criticize people. Criticize me for the way I speak. But what, that’s the way I speak, that’s the way he speaks. As long as he gets the message across, that’s what it’s for. That’s what all of these postings are for, to get some information across. And as long as he achieves that, then he is, he manages to do what he set out to do,” the President said.

“I am not exactly a judge of, how do you say, literary style. I don’t know how you want to put it. So that’s really, I have to consider that out of my purview,” he added.

Remulla has been criticized on social media for using casual language and humor in announcing class and work suspensions, with some netizens deeming his approach excessively informal for official communication.

Marcos said the government deliberately tasked the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) with issuing such announcements to ensure a simple and direct information dissemination to the public.

“Where do you go? Which website do you consult? If the secretary will make the announcement there’ll be no fake news, it’ll be the truth,” he said, adding that official announcements coming directly from the secretary of the DILG will help curb misinformation.

VP to Remulla: Be professional

Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday urged Interior Secretary Remulla to maintain professionalism when making official announcements, particularly on class and work suspensions.