MANILA, Philippines — Justifying the drop in President Rodrigo Duterte's satisfaction rating, Malacañang pointed out that the president's last three predecessors suffered lower ratings.
The latest Social Weather Stations survey showed that Duterte obtained a "good" net satisfaction rating of 45 percent in the second quarter of 2018.
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The survey was conducted from June 27 to 30 toward the end of the president's second year in office.
"The Chief Executive's +45 rating during the said period remained the highest, compared to his last three predecessors," presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Wednesday.
The Malacañang spokesman noted that former presidents Joseph Estrada (+5 in March 2000), Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (+6 in November 2002) and Benigno Aquino III (+42 in May 2012) had lower satisfaction ratings by the end of their second year in office.
"The survey evidently showed that — despite several challenges surrounding his presidency at the time the survey was conducted — PRRD still enjoyed the confidence of the majority of Filipinos with 'good' net satisfaction ratings in Metro Manila, Balanced Luzon, and the Visayas and 'excellent' net satisfaction rating in Mindanao," Roque said.
Duterte's net satisfaction rating in Metro Manila dropped 20 points from 54 percent in March to 34 percent in June. He also registered a decline in his ratings in Balance Luzon from 39 percent in March to 33 percent in June.
In his bailiwick Mindanao, the president's net satisfaction rating dropped from 82 percent in the first quarter to 76 percent in the second quarter. He obtained a large decline in Visayas from 65 percent to 47 percent in the same period.
Despite the drop in Duterte's ratings, Malacañang assured the public that the president and his Cabinet members will continue to work in "bringing fruits of a better and more inclusive economy, and in strengthening the government's drive against illegal drugs, crime and corruption."
Meanwhile, Duterte himself said that the survey does not concern him at all.
“I don’t care, make it 15. It does not interest me at all,” Duterte said in a media interview after delivering his speech in Pampanga on Tuesday.
“I’m just travelling along the coast. And with a new suggestion, since I am not popular anymore, Congress might decide to get a popular one. You want a popular president, fine good,” he added.
The president earlier expressed his intent to step down by 2019 when the country goes into transition from a unitary to a federal form of government.
However, the consultative committee recommended that Duterte lead the transitory committee that would facilitate the formal shif to federalism. In the draft constitution, the transitory committee's mandate would end by June 30, 2022.