Despite Duterte rating drop, Palace thanks Pinoys

MANILA, Philippines — Despite the drop in President Duterte’s satisfaction rating, Malacañang thanked the Filipinos yesterday for their confidence in the Chief Executive and vowed to pursue measures aimed at improving their lives.

A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted last month found 67 percent of adult Filipinos satisfied, 11 percent undecided and 15 percent dissatisfied with the performance of Duterte for a “very good” net satisfaction rating of +52.

The President’s latest net satisfaction rating was down by eight points from +75 percent in June, according to the non-commissioned nationwide poll.

It was also ten points below the “very good” +62 in June 2021 and the lowest since the “good” +45 in June 2018, SWS said.

However, presidential spokesman Harry Roque claimed that the survey result was “a clear validation that public confidence remains high on the ability and competence of the Chief Executive to lead the nation amid the current health crisis brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“We thank our people for giving the President a consistent ‘very good’ rating, as reflected in the first (May 2021), second (Jun 2021) and third (Sept 2021) quarter 2021 surveys of SWS,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement.

“With our people united behind the President and the administration, (President Duterte), along with the members of his Cabinet, will continue to improve the lives of Filipinos that will be felt beyond 2022, especially as we build back a better, post-COVID-19 economy,” he added.

SWS said the ten-point drop in Duterte’s net satisfaction rating from June to September this year was due to decreases in all areas except in Mindanao, where the President’s hometown Davao City is located.

His net satisfaction rating fell from “very good” to “good” in Metro Manila, from +63 to +48. It decreased from “very good” to “good” in the rest of Luzon, from +58 to +44 and from “very good” to “good“ in the Visayas, from +53 to +44.

His rating, however, remained “excellent” in Mindanao, hardly moving from +79 to +76.

The third quarter survey was conducted from Sept. 12 to 16, 2021, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide. It used sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages and ±6 percent for Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.