Duterte ratings drop faster than average? Palace says 'many ways' of analyzing poll

MANILA, Philippines — There are many ways of understanding the 18-point decline in President Rodrigo Duterte's quarterly net satisfaction score, Malacañang said on Tuesday as it urged the public to “take its time” in analyzing the survey conducted by polling firm Social Weather Stations.

In an interview with ANC's Headstart also on Tuesday, SWS president Mahar Mangahas said that the 18-point drop in Duterte's net satisfaction ratings for the third quarter of the year is faster than average against his predecessors.

READ: SWS president: Duterte ratings dip normal but faster than average

Reacting to Mangahas’ assessment, Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said “there are several ways of understanding” the latest SWS poll.

“I think what we need  is a little bit more time to make comparative studies and analysis so that we can make a fuller, comprehensive understanding of that report,” Abella said.

According to SWS, the president's "very good" rating of +66 in June declined to a "good" +48 in September—the largest fall since he became president in June 2016. The biggest declines came among the very poor and those living in urban areas.

READ: Duterte sees 18-point drop in satisfaction rating

Mangahas said Benigno Aquino III had the longest honeymoon period, which was three years. For Duterte to match Aquino's ratings, he would have to maintain his "good" ratings until the first quarter of 2018.

Duterte, Mangahas said, has already exceeded the so-called honeymoon stage of ousted President Joseph Estrada, who only had one year of "good" ratings.

Meanwhile, the latest SWS survey results came after the death of a minor in his deadly drug war that sparked rare street protests against his brutal drug war.

According to Mangahas, the recent drop in Duterte's ratings would have been due to the rising number of alleged extrajudicial killings in the country.

The SWS chief, however, clarified that the killings brought about by Duterte's campaign against illegal drugs are not the sole factor of the dip in his ratings.

"It could be, but we’ll try to look into that, because we know about the people’s fears about being victimized so we’ll see if there’s a connection to people’s fears about being victimized... This is not one thing, this is not necessarily just about EJKs, but, of course, that’s very important," he said.