President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has backed Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla, following the latter’s viral announcement of class and work suspension that drew mixed reactions online.

In a press conference held Wednesday morning (Manila time) in Washington, D.C., President Marcos was asked about the issue and responded by shaking his head, saying he relates to the kind of public scrutiny Remulla is receiving.

“People criticize me for the way I speak,” Marcos said.

“As long as he gets the message across—that’s what this is for, that’s what these postings are for. That’s information dissemination,” he added.

DILG on Tuesday posted on their Facebook account saying, "Mga abangers, may inaabangan ba kayo? Mamaya na kain muna ko." (Mga abangers, are you waiting for something? I’ll eat later first.)

Two hours later, the DILG again published a post saying, “Mga abangers, sarap ng bogchi ko. Sa kabusugan ay nakaidlip nang sandali. Oh eto na inaabangan niyo!” (Mga abangers, my bogchi was delicious. I took a short nap because I was full. Oh, here’s what you’ve been waiting for!) — announcing class and work suspension in some areas nationwide.

Meanwhile, the President explained why he allowed Secretary Remulla to make the announcement on class and work suspensions.

“So that the dissemination of information is clearer. It’s very simple. When something like this happens, and we say, ‘We’ll make an announcement,’ then there’s no fake news. That’s the truth,” he said in Filipino.

Remulla addressed the backlash during a radio interview, apologizing and clarifying his intentions.

He said his aim was simply to inject positive energy and not to make light of the difficulties brought by the bad weather.

“I’m not belittling what people are going through. I just want to lighten the mood so the public doesn’t always hear negative vibes,” Remulla said. “If they didn’t understand that, I apologize. But that’s just how I am. I hope they understand I meant no harm.”