MANILA, Philippines - The net public satisfaction ratings of President Benigno Aquino III fell by 15 points in a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey amid the alleged multi-billion pork barrel scam.
Results of the SWS survey conducted from September 20 to 23 revealed that Aquino's net ratings declined to a "good" score of +49 from a "very good" +64 last June.
The President's satisfaction ratings dipped to 68 percent in September from 76 percent in June this year. On the other hand, the number of Filipinos dissatisfied by Aquino's performance also increased to 19 percent in September from 12 percent in June.
The SWS survey polled 1,200 adult respondents in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The survey has a sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages and ±6 percent for area percentages.
In a statement, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said they acknowledge the decline of Aquino's ratings, which she said reflects the citizens' anger and disappointment towards alleged misuse of public funds such as lawmakers pork barrel funds.
"We do recognize that there is a general outrage about how these funds have been spent or how these funds have been misused. And some of that may be directed again to the present administration," Valte said at a televised press briefing.
But the Palace official refused to answer if the recent controversy on the Aquino administration's Disbursement Acceleration Program will further affect the President's ratings.
Valte also said "numbers show" that Filipinos remain on the side of the Aquino administration in the campaign against corruption.
"We are grateful to the great majority of our countrymen who have not been swayed by the enemies of reform. We thank them for their commitment, and laud their capacity to discern. Rest assured that our pursuit of justice will continue and will in fact intensify as more evidence is gathered," Valte said in a statement.
chart and table from sws.org.ph