Cabinet members vowed to work double-time after President Rodrigo Duterte’s net satisfaction ratings suffered an 11-point drop in the latest Social Weather Stations opinion poll, the Palace said Wednesday.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque assured the public that the President and the members of his Cabinet would exert an even greater effort to provide better government service.
“Regardless of numbers, we assure everyone that the President and the members of his Cabinet would continue to work double-time in bringing the fruits of a better and more inclusive economy, and in strengthening the government’s drive against illegal drugs, crime, and corruption,” said Roque in a statement sent to media Tuesday night.
Roque said the latest survey showed that despite several challenges the administration has encountered, the majority of Filipinos still managed to put their confidence in the President.
“President Duterte still enjoyed the confidence of the majority of Filipinos with a ‘good’ net satisfaction rating in Metro Manila, Balanced Luzon, and the Visayas and ‘excellent’ net satisfaction rating in Mindanao,” said Roque.
Roque said that despite the recent decline, Duterte’s net satisfaction rating remained the highest compared to his last three predecessors.
Opposition Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV said Duterte’s recent ratings were a “cry for help” amid the rising prices for basic commodities.
“This is a warning to the President by the people who are drowning from the rising prices to hear their call to pause Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law,” said Aquino in a statement Wednesday.
A constant critic, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, said the 11-point decline showed that “the Duterte myth” is gone.
“The novelty of his crass behavior is gone too,” also said the opposition senator.
Trillanes said the people have finally seen the light. “It took the rising cost of living to expose Duterte as nothing more than a one-trick pony,” he said.
House leaders played down the 11-point drop in President Duterte’s net satisfaction rating.
Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu, Luis Raymund Villafuerte of Camarines Sur and Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III said the SWS survey result was expected, given the controversies that beset the administration.
They added that the ratings will improve when the tax reform program begins to bear fruit.
“The administration has taken bold steps to eliminate poverty and fix whatever that ails the country with the end in view of making life more comfortable for the Filipino,” Albano said.
Villafuerte said he is optimistic that President Duterte’s satisfaction rating will recover, given his “well-planned anti-poverty initiatives, and his game-changing move to shift the country’s foreign policy focus to Asia.”
Villafuerte said the President has shown his tough and determined drive to curbing corruption by firing top officials suspected of abusing their positions, even if they happen to be his close political allies.
The survey, released Tuesday, July 10, showed that 65 percent of adult Filipinos were satisfied with the performance of the President while 20 percent were dissatisfied and the remaining 15 percent were undecided.
Results of the second quarter poll show that Duterte’s net satisfaction rating reached his all-time low of +45, which is categorized as “good” by SWS.