President Aquino cannot blame anybody but himself and his insensitivity to the sentiment of the poverty-stricken majority of the population, and his administration’s mediocre perform-ance for the spiral in his public satisfaction rating based on the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, Aquino’s critics said yesterday.
The SWS survey showed the net satisfaction rating of Aquino fell a steep 13 points to 51 in a March 4 to 7 poll from 64 in November mainly as a result of controversies including his purchase of a luxury car.
The ratings drop was most pronounced in the balance of Luzon or the island less Metro Manila, where Aquino’s satisfaction rating plumetted 21 points to 48 from November’s 69.
A luxury sports car was bought at a time of serious economic crisis. Using the graduation rites of a leading university to slam his opponents, perceived or otherwise, bungling on the country’s diplomatic affairs with other countries, his failure to address the continuous rise of the price of basic commodities, consistent bashing of unfriendly media all conspired for his falling popularity, according to minority members of the House of Representatives.
Asked on Aquino’s purchase of a sleek Porsche late last year, nearly half or 48 percent of respondents in the survey said it was not a good example for the chief executive of a country like the Philippines, notwithstanding details such as the car was not brand new and that Aquino had used his own money.
Scores in all areas but one, socioeconomic classes and gender were down from November last year. In Luzon, urban areas, among the ABC class and among males, Aquino particularly saw his net ratings dip into “good” territory from “very good.”
His sole gain was in the Visayas to a “very good” +60 from +56 in November. A “very good” net rating of 53 also came from Mindanao but this was down from 65 previously. It dropped 21 points to a “good” 48 in the balance of Luzon from a “very good” 69, and by a slightly smaller 18 points to a “good” +41 in Metro Manila from a “very good” +59.
Two members of the minority bloc in the House of Representatives said Aquino has no one to blame but his insensitivity and inaction for the dip in his popularity rating.
In separate text messages, former presidential son, Ang Galing Pinoy Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo and Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay said the failure of Aquino to address the country’s worsening problems and his apparent arrogance in making rounds in the city onboard a luxurious sports car amid a time people are embroiled in the unabated rise of price of basic commodities, have contributed to the President’s sagging popularity.
Arroyo said the fall in the net satisfaction rating of the President only shows how disappointed the people are in Aquino’s handling of the government as people are now starting to realize the son of the late President Cory Aquino was only a result of a media frenzy following the death of his mother in 2009.
“They are now starting to realize that President Aquino is just a creation of a well-funded media campaign and that his daang matuwid idea of governance is nothing but an empty rhetoric with no solid program to stand on.”
“All these, plus his too much politicking which he employs though his blame game, and his insensitivity as manifested by his purchase of a pretty Porsche sports car at a time when people are bearing the brunt of rising prices of basic commodities, have contributed to the dip in his popularity,” said Arroyo.
Magsaysay said: “He (Aquino) is so insensitive to get himself a luxurious sports car when people has nothing to eat. And the survey result will speak for itself. The Porsche has now become a symbol, of protest for the people against Aquino,” said Magsaysay.
“The latest SWS survey showing Aquino’s satisfaction rating dropping to 51 percent shows that the people expect sensitivity and action from him to address he dire situation that we are facing like the high oil prices, high transportation fares, high electricity and water rates, high cost of basic food, high unemployment and high dissatisfaction in handling our migrant workers (concerns),” the lady solon stressed.
“People are tired of his political ranting and need solutions to their problems.”
The Zambales solon added that Aquino’s campaign for the Ombudsman’s conviction, will not do him any good.
Malacañang showed a brave face over the survey as PCDSP Secretary Ramon Carandang said it’s just “natural” for the Chief Executive’s numbers to decline several months after elections.
Carandang, however, claimed that Aquino’s purchase of a sports car did not necessarily factor that much in Aquino’s latest numbers saying it’s “pretty much a separate issue”. He, nonetheless, hinted that this could encourage the President to be more circumspect in his future purchases of luxurious items.
“The President has always been sensitive to public opinion. It may keep him from buying another luxury car in the future,” Carandang told reporters during a post-briefing interview while insisting that the Palace doesn’t want to make an issue out of the President’s acquisition of the Porsche anymore.
Malacañang also remains hopeful that Aquino’s popularity ratings would recover in the next surveys once the public starts noticing the positive impact of the reforms he promised to implement during his administration but Carandang emphasized that nobody can predict just where the President’s numbers exactly would go. –Charlie V. Manalo, Aytch S. de la Cruz, Daily Tribune
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