Survey: Duterte government maintains ‘very good’ rating

MANILA, Philippines - Public satisfaction with the Duterte administration remained “very good” at +66 in the first quarter of the year, the Social Weather Stations (SWS)’s latest survey showed.

The poll conducted from March 25 to 28 found 75 percent of Filipinos saying they are “satisfied” with the national government and only nine percent “dissatisfied,” resulting in a net satisfaction score of +66.

Sixteen percent, meanwhile, were undecided on the matter.

The administration’s latest score was five points higher than the “very good” +61 (73 percent satisfied, 12 percent dissatisfied) logged in the last quarter of 2016.

Its net satisfaction ratings remained “excellent” in Mindanao, President Duterte’s bailiwick, at +79, hardly moving from +78 recorded in the December survey.?It stayed “very good” at +67 in the Visayas, nine points above December’s +58; +62 in Metro Manila, also nine points higher than December’s +53; and +60 in balance Luzon, four points up from +56.?Net satisfaction scores of the administration also remained “very good” across socioeconomic classes: +69 among respondents belonging to class E, seven points above the +62 registered in December; +61 among those in class ABC, six points above the “very good” +55 previously; and +66 in class D or the masses, five points higher than the +61 recorded in fourth quarter of 2016.

The same survey found that out of 15 performance issues comprising a Governance Report Card, the Duterte administration got a “very good” score in one subject, “good” ratings in 10 and “moderate” in four others. 

Key issues

The survey showed the administration retained its “very good” rating in “helping the poor” at +63, despite a three-point drop from December’s +66.?It received “good” net ratings in “developing science and technology” at +49 (from +50); “fighting terrorism” at +47 (from +41); “defending the country’s territorial rights” at +46 (from +54); “providing jobs” at +43, (from +51); “fighting crime” at +41 (from +50); “eradicating graft and corruption” at +39 (from +45 in the fourth quarter of 2016); “solving the problem of extrajudicial killings” at +37, (from +40); “reconciliation with communist rebels” at +32 (from +30); “foreign relations” at +46, unchanged from December and “reconciliation with Muslim rebels” at +33, also unchanged.?It obtained “moderate” scores in “ensuring that no family will ever be hungry” at +22, down 12 points from +34 in December; “fighting inflation” at +13, also down 12 points from the “moderate” +25; “recovering the ‘hidden wealth’ stolen by Marcos and his cronies” at +22, two points below the+24 in December; and “resolving the traffic problem” at +21.

SWS noted that this was the first time the issue on resolving the traffic problem was included in the survey.