Will the ratings fall freely!

There is a reported plunge in the ratings of both President Ferdinand R Marcos Jr and Vice President Sara Duterte- Carpio. The lowering in survey results is in double digits which figures are described by those professionals in this discipline of statistics as ominously frightening specially that the turnout in the last elections was unprecedented. This is what I read from the internet. “While still high, the approval and trust ratings of President Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte have seen “significant erosions” in the latest survey conducted by Pulse Asia. The survey, conducted from Sept. 10 to 14, found that only 65 percent of the respondents approved of Marcos’ performance, down 15 points from the 80 percent he obtained in a similar survey conducted in June.”

In terms of approval, according to Pulse Asia, the ratings of President Marcos were down by a huge 14 percent in the Visayas, 15 percent in Luzon and also 14 percent in Mindanao. The biggest plunge was recorded in the ABC class, the acknowledged intelligent voters and economically well off which recorded a 22 percent drop. This was somewhat tempered by a lower slippage of 12 percent from the D class but the president should worry that the approval ratings of the E class, where the president supposedly enjoyed an unimaginable lead over his rival, drop by a very significant 29 percent.

Compared to the previous survey, the trust for the President was reported to be 13 percent down in the Visayas, 5 percent lower in Mindanao, 8 percent in Manila and 20 percent for the rest of Luzon.

Duterte-Carpio, on the other hand, still obtained the highest approval rating in her bailiwick Mindanao at 87 percent which is lower by 9 percent from her previous 96 percent. This was followed by those in the Visayas at 85 percent from the earlier 90 percent. In Luzon, she obtained 64 percent from the previous 77 percent or a drop of 13 percent. In Metro Manila, Duterte-Carpio got only 63 percent which is 12 percent lower than her former 75 percent.

I read these poor survey results as the expression of the peoples’ disappointment. To me, the early developments in this Marcos administration are indicators of failure in the way the one-year-old presidency is performing. There are easily identifiable factors of this deterioration in the approval and trust ratings of our highest officials. To the millions of citizens who are uninitiated in economics, it is the monumental failure of government to adopt measures designed to arrest the run-away increase in the prices of prime commodities. Here is an example. The poor man who relied upon the election promise of then presidential candidate Marcos to peg the price of rice at P20 per kilo, says that the president betrays him with the cost of rice now seemingly beyond his reach.

Our two highest officials however, must brace for a worsening approval and trust ratings. I foresee that the impact of the unconstitutional transfer of the confidential funds from the office of the president to the office of the vice president in December 2022 (actually less than half a year in office) is likely to strengthen the perception that the junior is just running true to the senior’s corrupt form. That supposed augmentation of funds violates constitutional guidelines. It is an impeachable offense. The indignation of the intelligentsia is mounting.

When those in the ABC class descend from their ivory towers and for a moment share their indignation with the millions in the E class, the approval and trust ratings will suffer a free fall.