Duterte satisfaction rating high until term’s end – SWS

MANILA, Philippines — Former president Rodrigo Duterte maintained high satisfaction ratings until the end of his term, a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) before the May 9 elections showed.

Results of the April 19 to 27 survey released on Wednesday night showed that 78 percent of adult Filipinos were satisfied with the performance of the then-president, up from 75 percent obtained in a similar survey conducted in December 2021.

Those who were dissatisfied fell from 15 percent to 13 percent, while those who were undecided remained at nine percent.

This gave Duterte a net satisfaction rating of “very good” +65, up from the also “very good” +60 in the previous survey.

The net satisfaction rating is the rounded off difference between those who said that they are satisfied and dissatisfied with the performance of a particular government official.

SWS classifies net satisfaction ratings of at least +70 as “excellent”; +50 to +69 as “very good”; +30 to +49 as “good”; +10 to +29 as “moderate”; +9 to -9 as “neutral”; -10 to -29 as “poor”; -30 to -49 as “bad”; -50 to -69 as “very bad”; and -70 and below as “execrable.”

Duterte obtained a net satisfaction rating of “very good” +64 in September 2016, the first survey on public satisfaction of government officials that was conducted by SWS during his term.

It dropped to its lowest of “good” +45 in June 2018 before rebounding and reaching its highest – “excellent” +79 – in November 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

SWS has yet to release the average satisfaction rating obtained by Duterte throughout his term, but it is expected to be higher than his predecessors.

Former president Benigno Aquino III had an average “good” +45 throughout his term, Gloria Arroyo with “neutral” -7, Joseph Estrada with “good” +33, Fidel Ramos with “good” +38 and Corazon Aquino with “good” +35.

Increase in all areas

According to SWS, the increase in Duterte’s overall net satisfaction rating from December 2021 to April 2022 was due to increases in all areas.

It was highest among respondents in Mindanao at +83 (up from +80), followed by those in Metro Manila at +63 (up from +61), rest of Luzon at +60 (up from +56) and the Visayas at +55 (up from +45).

It stayed at +64 among respondents in urban areas, while it increased from +56 to +65 among those in rural areas.

Net satisfaction also rose among both men and women, as well as most age and educational groups.

The survey had 1,440 adult respondents and an error margin of plus or minus 2.6 percent for national percentages.