Honeymoon period over? Satisfaction with Marcos, Sara down

MANILA, Philippines — Even though they still enjoy the approval of the majority, satisfaction with President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte dropped by double digits in several polls conducted last year.

A year into the new administration, which was elected by a landslide in the 2022 elections, Filipinos are also largely dissatisfied with the government’s performance in addressing the rising cost of basic commodities.

In a span of one year, Marcos’ performance rating decreased by 13 points, from 78 percent in October 2022 to 65 percent in October 2023, based on the quarterly “Tugon ng Masa” survey conducted by OCTA Research.

Marcos’ performance rating slightly went up to 80 percent in March, before dropping to 71 percent in July and 65 percent in October.

Comparing the October 2022 and October 2023 surveys, Marcos’ approval went down significantly across areas, with a drop of 26 percentage points among respondents in Mindanao (from 85 percent to 59 percent).

Duterte, meanwhile, suffered a 10-point drop in her performance rating, from 80 percent in October 2022 to 70 percent in October 2023. It went up to as high as 84 percent in March.

As of October 2023, the Vice President’s lowest approval ratings were among respondents from balance Luzon and Metro Manila at 62 percent and 63 percent, respectively (down from 71 percent and 79 percent, respectively, in the October 2022 survey).

The same is true with Pulse Asia’s “Ulat ng Bayan” survey, which showed Marcos’ approval rating dropping from 80 percent in June 2023 to 65 percent in September 2023.

Duterte’s approval rating, meanwhile, dropped from 84 percent to 73 percent.

In terms of trust, Marcos suffered a 14-point decrease from 85 percent to 71 percent. Duterte’s trust rating dropped from 87 percent to 75 percent.

Polling firm Social Weather Stations (SWS) had yet to release its survey results on public satisfaction with government officials as of late last year.

The most recent available survey, conducted in December 2022, showed that 75 percent of respondents were satisfied with Marcos.

Urgent concerns

Various polls also showed that inflation remains the most urgent concern among Filipinos.

Throughout the year, the Marcos administration consistently received low approval score for its efforts to address the rising cost of basic commodities.

Based on OCTA surveys, satisfaction with the government in managing inflation went down from 35 percent in March to just 14 percent in October.

Meanwhile, dissatisfaction increased from 36 percent to 64 percent.

Out of the 24 issues included in the latest survey, the government received approval of less than a majority on eight issues, up from just two issues in the March survey.

These included reducing poverty and hunger, fighting graft and corruption, reducing the amount of taxes, controlling population growth, stopping illegal drugs and ensuring food security.

Providing quality basic and tertiary education and building public infrastructure obtained the highest approval ratings among the selected issues, although these also went down by around 10 points compared to the March survey.

Meanwhile, the September 2023 survey conducted by Pulse Asia showed 74 percent of the respondents identifying inflation as among their most urgent national concern, up 11 points from 63 percent in June 2023.

It was followed by increasing the pay of workers, creating more jobs, reducing poverty and fighting graft and corruption.

Right direction?

For respondents of the OCTA surveys, more Filipinos still think that the country is headed in the right direction, although the most recent survey showed a decreasing trend.

From 72 percent in July 2023, only 62 percent said that the country is headed in the right direction in the October 2023 survey. It was 76 percent in March 2023 and 85 percent in October 2022.

Those who think the country is headed in the wrong direction increased from six percent in October 2022 to 20 percent in October 2023.

Still, personal optimism remains high.

The latest SWS survey, conducted from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, showed that 48 percent of the respondents expect a better quality of life within a year, almost similar to the 46 percent obtained in a similar survey conducted in June 2023.

The number of those who expect their lives to worsen in the next 12 months was only six percent, from five percent in the previous survey.

Some 40 percent said it would stay the same, down from 44 percent.