Filipinos slowly waking up?

Approval and trust ratings down, for Marcos Jr and Duterte’s daughter.

Are the Filipino people slowly waking up and showing their growing discontent for the present government?

In case you missed the recent 2023 September Pulse Asia survey results, some highlights:

The approval and trust ratings for Marcos Jr. and Duterte’s daughter declined by double digits from June to September.

From 80% in June, Marcos Jr.’s approval rating in September 2023 among Class ABC dropped to 65% while Sara’s dipped from 84% to73%.

Trust ratings for both also dipped, from 85 to 71 percent for Marcos Jr. and from 87 to 74 percent for Duterte’s daughter.

Pulse Asia noted that their latest poll conducted from September 10-14 coincided with the 2024 budget deliberations in Congress, including the focus on the confidential and intelligence funds of these two officials. the imposition of the rice cap and the controversial DEPED’s memorandum revising the term “diktaturang Marcos” to simply “diktatura” in the Araling Panlipunan.

Continuing inflation, increasing price hikes of gasoline, food, and other items, unstable food supply are severely affecting millions of Filipinos.

Will Marcos Jr. realize the handwriting on the wall, listen to the people and start to address the causes of the double digit drop just 15 months into his six-year term?

His 65% approval rating is 1% less than the older Duterte’s lowest approval rating of 64% in a September 2021 survey.

Will Duterte’s daughter also finally understand the Filipino people’s rejection of her confidential funds? Will she stop her shameless insistence and feeling of entitlement to confidential funds that she enjoyed, without scrutiny and opposition in Davao when she was mayor?

Will both of these former children of former Presidents heed the growing voices of dissent, including from their self-proclaimed but contested solid base of 30 million voters?

As a first step, both may want to step down as Secretary of Agriculture and DepEd respectively and finally allow the truly qualified to manage these two very important offices and to address the pressing problems of our food producers and the education sector?

The lowered approval and trust ratings for both is a welcome sign that Filipinos will not allow abusive and greedy officials to treat government and its coffers as their exclusive kingdom and dynasty.

Worth highlighting as well is the clear voice of the Filipinos expressing their disapproval and eroding trust as well for a submissive Congress that ignores the needs of the Filipinos.

Will the lower approval and trust rates among the ruling majority see a major change in leadership soon? And will a likely leadership shakeup translate to better and inclusive governance to benefit the Filipino people or not?

Meanwhile, the escalating problems for our people continue.

Commuters will now have to shell out a peso more for transport fare. And increase in transportation fees will cascade, again, to further increase in price of food and other items.

While millions of Filipinos are scrimping on their meager, dwindling wages and resources, the privileged shamelessly, hastily approved a national budget that very clearly benefits only the powerful, only a privileged few.

Maharlika funds will siphon precious funds needed for the health, welfare and other benefits of millions of Filipinos. Why is Marcos Jr. bent on starting this Maharlika Investment Fund?

Why cannot this government suspend excise tax for oil? Where have all the excise taxes gone and where are all the present and prospective excise taxes going?

Clearly, not to the needy millions of Filipinos!

Why cannot this government suspend or cut the unnecessary infrastructure projects for this year and next?

Why not instead remove the huge budget for infrastructure projects and all confidential funds and rechannel to genuinely benefit millions of deserving Filipino people who rightfully own this country’s funds?

Yes to a transparent/honest/inclusive/responsive government!