GMA ratings drop to lowest since 2001

MANILA, Philippines – Nearly six of every 10 Filipinos or 59 percent disapprove of President Arroyo’s performance, her highest disapproval score since March 2001, according to a survey by Pulse Asia.

“The current overall approval score of President Arroyo is the lowest she has received since becoming president in January 2001,” Pulse Asia said in a statement.

“Back in July 2005, at the height of the ‘Hello, Garci’ controversy, 58 percent of Filipinos expressed disapproval for President Arroyo’s work,” Pulse Asia said.

Pulse Asia conducted its Ulat ng Bayan survey from March 21 to 28.

An earlier survey, conducted by the Social Weather Stations, showed Mrs. Arroyo’s satisfaction rating falling to an all-time low of -53, the lowest achieved by a Philippine president since 1986.

Pulse Asia said Mrs. Arroyo’s overall approval rating dropped by seven percentage points while her disapproval score rose by eight points between October 2009 and March 2010.

Public ambivalence toward Mrs. Arroyo’s performance in the past quarter was most pronounced in Class ABC (34 percent) and Eastern Visayas (38 percent).

Pulse Asia said Mrs. Arroyo received majority disapproval ratings (51 percent to 70 percent) in virtually all survey sub-groupings.

The only non-majority disapproval figures were recorded in Eastern and Central Visayas (46 percent and 48 percent), Regions 1, 2, and the CAR (50 percent), and among those working in government (49 percent).

Public disapproval was more manifest in the urban areas than in rural areas (64 percent versus 55 percent), Pulse Asia said.

Public criticism of the presidential performance among those with high school education or vocational training went up by +10 percentage points from October 2009 and March 2010.

It also rose among the unemployed (+10 percentage points) and among those aged 18-24 years old (+11 percentage points).

Highly rated

Meanwhile, the survey showed Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile having the highest approval rating (41 percent) among top officials.

Pulse Asia said only Enrile showed improvement in approval rating between October 2009 and March 2010 at five percentage points.

Declines in approval scores were noted for Speaker Prospero Nograles (five percentage points) and Chief Justice Reynato Puno (12 points).

The disapproval rating for Vice President Noli de Castro rose six points, Pulse Asia said.

Receiving approval scores of 19 percent were Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza, Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales. Philippine National Police Director General Jesus Verzosa got 33 percent.

Issue grading

The poll also showed that the Arroyo administration failed to score a majority approval rating on its responses to 11 national issues.

The Arroyo government received “big plurality to small majority” disapproval ratings for its efforts to enforce the law equally on all citizens (40 percent), increase the pay of workers (41 percent), control inflation (50 percent), reduce poverty (50 percent), and fight corruption in government (52 percent).

Public approval was most notable in the issue of fighting criminality (31 percent) and least marked on issues of reducing poverty (20 percent) and fighting corruption (20 percent).

Public approval for the Arroyo administration’s efforts to fight criminality, create more jobs, improve the peace situation in the country, and enforce the law equally on all Filipinos decreased by five to six points from October 2009 to March 2010.

The survey also revealed that only three of the 12 government agencies rated in March enjoyed majority approval ratings – the Department of Education (66 percent), Department of Health (DOH, 65 percent), and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD, 62 percent).

Public disapproval was most pronounced in the case of the Department of Energy (21 percent) and Energy Regulatory Commission (21 percent), while single-digit ratings are recorded for the DSWD (eight percent) and DOH (nine percent).

The survey also showed that public disapproval of the congressional performance during the period dropped five to six points.

The survey used face-to-face interview with 3,000 representative adult respondents. –Helen Flores (The Philippine Star)