Duterte performance, trust ratings dip – Pulse Asia

MANILA, Philippines -  As criticisms against his bloody war on drugs continued, President Duterte’s approval and trust ratings fell in the first quarter of 2017, according to the latest survey conducted by Pulse Asia.

Pulse Asia said nearly eight in 10 Filipinos or 78 percent remained appreciative of the President’s work. However, this was five points below the 83 percent registered in December 2016.

Trust in Duterte likewise fell by seven points, from 83 percent in the last quarter of 2016 to 76 percent in March.

Duterte continued to register single-digit disapproval and distrust scores of seven percent (from five percent) and five percent (from four percent), respectively.

The survey was conducted from March 15 to 20, using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults 18 years old and above.

It has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

Duterte received the highest ratings for his performance and trustworthiness in Mindanao, his home region, at 88 percent and 90 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, he obtained the lowest figures in the rest of Luzon – 71 percent and 67 percent, respectively.

Indecision toward his performance and trustworthiness was highest in the rest of Luzon (20 percent and 27 percent, respectively) and least pronounced in Mindanao (nine percent and seven percent, respectively).

Indecision toward presidential performance in Class ABC was also recorded at nine percent.

According to Pulse Asia, Duterte enjoyed single-digit disapproval and distrust scores in all geographic areas (three percent to nine percent and three percent to eight percent, respectively) and socio-economic groupings (five percent to nine percent and five percent to seven percent, respectively).

The President’s performance and trustworthiness remain generally unchanged between December 2016 and March 2017, with the exception of the seven-percentage point decline in his national trust score.

“There are hardly any changes in the performance and trust ratings of President Duterte during the period December 2016 to March 2017. The only significant movement occurring at this time is the drop in the President’s national trust rating (negative seven percentage points),” Pulse Asia noted.

“Even the double-digit movements in the latter’s performance ratings in Class ABC and in his trust ratings in the rest of Luzon as well as in Classes ABC and E are considered marginal as they fall within the relevant error margins for these subgroupings,” the pollster said.

Pulse Asia listed some of the top issues during the survey period, including the arrest of Sen. Leila de Lima on drug charges, the filing of an impeachment complaint against Duterte, the passing of the death penalty bill in the House of Representatives and the issuance by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the US of separate reports highly critical of the administration’s war on illegal drugs.

Reports said more than 7,000 drug suspects have been killed by police and unknown assailants since Duterte launched the anti-illegal drug campaign after taking office in June last year.

In an interview with ANC, Pulse Asia research director Ana Maria Tabunda said the decline in the President’s ratings could not be attributed to the administration’s drug war alone.

“No single issue responsible for the ratings drop; it’s a combination of issues,” she said.

“Data show that some are reacting to the extension of campaign against illegal drugs,” she said.

Tabunda said the drop in Duterte’s scores is not surprising, as the president’s ratings traditionally decline over time.

“The President is not immune to changes in opinion. People are looking at what he and his men are doing,” Tabunda said. “We do want to get people’s sentiments across to our leaders.”

Still strong

Senators see President Duterte’s survey ratings still strong despite posting a decline in the last three months.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said the “honeymoon period is over” but Duterte still has the people’s trust.

“But the people still love him, his leadership and his unique style, given his ‘corrected’ trust and performance ratings,” Pimentel said.

Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said the latest survey ratings can be interpreted either way, depending on one’s political leanings.

“It depends on which side of the fence you are on. A drop is a drop. But 78 percent is 78 percent. Some presidents have never even reached 60 percent (trust and approval ratings),” Sotto said.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who is president of the Liberal Party, said all presidents before Duterte also experienced very high trust ratings at the start of their terms, only to see them dip.

“So there is really nothing unusual” with the five-point and seven-point drop in Duterte’s performance and trust ratings, respectively, he pointed out.

“His ratings remain high and I hope he uses his high trust ratings to address the main concerns of our citizens, which are to address the rising prices of goods, create better paying jobs and improve incomes,” Pangilinan said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson did not see anything unusual in the drop in Duterte’s ratings as they are “expected to slide in the course of time.” He said the drop was not significant and should not ring alarm bells at this time.

“The honeymoon period will end sooner or later but it will come to that anyway,” Lacson said.

But if the decline in the ratings continues, the senators advised Duterte to sit down with his trusted advisers to assess and make adjustments if necessary, in his policies and in their actual implementation, as well as in his public pronouncements.

“At the end of the day, rightly or wrongly, a leader should somehow adapt to what the people want or demand of him to serve them if he wants to succeed,” Lacson said.

“Needless to say, the support of the people he serves is one indispensable element in governance,” he said.

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the declines were most likely due to the “unprecedented amount of international criticism and negative publicity” Duterte’s war on drugs has whipped up.

“However, despite all of the attacks launched against him, a commanding super-majority of the Filipino people remains confident in President Duterte’s ability to lead our country,” Gatchalian said.

 “If anything, these results illustrate how deeply the Filipino people trust the President and how much they believe in his vision for the Philippines,” he added.  – With  Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy