MANILA, Philippines — The number of Filipinos who believe President Rodrigo Duterte could deliver on his campaign vows suffered a double-digit drop compared to last year, the latest Social Weather Stations survey found.
Results of the survey which was conducted last September 23-27 was released on Sunday.
The Q3 2017 poll showed that only 35 percent of adult Filipinos expect Duterte to fulfill most, if not all, of his promises. Broken down, the number comprises of 8 percent saying he could fulfill "all or nearly all" and 27 percent believing he could accomplish "most" of his promises.
When the question was first asked in June 2016 the number was at 63 percent. It went down to 56 percent in September 2016 and further dropped to 52 percent in March 2017.
The September 2017 poll added that a greater number of Filipinos (57%) believe that Duterte would accomplish only a few of his promises while 6 percent said none or almost none would be accomplished.
SWS asked 1,500 adults using face-to-face interviews with 600 from Balance Luzon and 300 each in Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao. It has a sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages, ±4 percent for Balance Luzon and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao.
Respondents were asked to answer "all or nearly all of the promises," "most of the promises," "a few of the promises" and "almost none or none of the promises" to this question: "In your opinion, how many of the promises of Pres. Rody Duterte can be fulfilled?"
The 17-point decline in the national proportion from March 2017 to September 2017 was due to double-digit drops in all areas, SWS said. Mindanao, Duterte's home region, showed a 33-point drop followed by a decline of 18 points in Visayas, 13 points in Metro Manila and 11 points in Balance Luzon.
Comparing his numbers to previous presidents, SWS said that those expecting most, if not all, of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's promises could be fulfilled was at 19 percent in September 2001. Sixty-four percent expected a few and 16 percent expected almost none or none.
Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, on the other hand, had 44 percent expecting most, if not all, of his promises to be delivered in September 2010. Fifty percent expected a few and 4 percent expected almost none or none.
Expectations plunge across class, gender, age
SWS said those who believe Duterte could accomplish most, if not all, of his promises fell by 20 points from March to September this year in rural areas and 14 points in urban areas.
Expectation that Duterte would push through with his promises is highest in class ABC at 42 percent but it is 7 points down from its 49 percent last March. Class D fell by 17 points and class E dropped 23 points.
Numbers also dropped among men and women by 16 points and 19 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, expectations that he would deliver on his promises fell by 8 points among 25-34-year-olds, 13 points among 18-24-year-olds, 16 points among 35-44-year-olds, 26 points among 45-54-year-olds and 26 points among 55-year-olds and above.
Expectations also tumbled by 28 points among college graduates, 15 points among high school graduates, 13 points among elementary school graduates and 26 points among non-elementary graduates.
Palace downplays survey results
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the survey results could be attributed to the wearing off of the election euphoria, which he said happens a year after a president assumes office.
"We find nothing unusual in the drop of those who expect that he would fulfill his promises as the euphoria of the elections normally wears off after a year in office and people become more realistic on what the government can deliver. This has been the trend in previous administrations," Roque said in a statement.
"What matters is Filipinos remain satisfied when they gave the current administration a 'very good' overall performance rating at +58, as reflected in the same survey," he added.
Roque said the Duterte administration would continue to perform its duties regardless of the survey results.
“The president and members of his Cabinet would continue to work hard in bringing comfortable life for all where citizens feel safe and secure under a trustworthy government,” he said. — Mikas Matsuzawa with a report from Alexis Romero