SWS: Noy rating dips further

MANILA, Philippines –  President Aquino’s public approval rating continues to drop as he prepares to mark his first year in office.

A recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed the President’s net rating slipping from a record high of 64 in November last year to 46 this month, with 64 percent of Filipinos saying they were satisfied with his performance and 18 percent dissatisfied.

The results of the survey, conducted from June 3 to 6 among 1,200 respondents, were published in the newspaper BusinessWorld.

Aquino’s satisfaction rating was on the wane from March’s “very good” of +51 (69 percent satisfied, 18 percent dissatisfied). His March rating was also a decline from his +64 net rating in November 2010, which was also considered “very good.”

But SWS said Aquino’s new scores, despite the drop, were all in the “good” and “very good” ranges across all areas, social classes and sex.

In Metro Manila, the President obtained a “good” score of +43 (62 percent satisfied, 19 percent dissatisfied), which is slightly higher than March’s “good” +41 (62 percent satisfied, 21 percent dissatisfied).

The rest of Luzon also gave Aquino a “good” +41 (60 percent satisfied, 19 percent dissatisfied), down from the similarly “good” +48 (68 percent satisfied, 20 percent dissatisfied) three months earlier.

Aquino maintained his “very good” score in the Visayas at +51 (67 percent satisfied, 17 percent dissatisfied, correctly rounded), although the score was lower than the previous +60 (75 percent satisfied, 15 percent dissatisfied).

He also kept his “very good” rating in Mindanao at +54 (71 percent satisfied, 17 percent dissatisfied), barely changing from +53 (69 percent satisfied, 16 percent dissatisfied) in March.

SWS said the President’s rural net satisfaction fell by eight points, a “good” +47 (65 percent satisfied, 18 percent dissatisfied) from March’s “very good” +55 (71 percent satisfied, 16 percent dissatisfied).

Urban net satisfaction, meanwhile, stayed at “good” +45 (63 percent satisfied, 18 percent dissatisfied) but also dropped by two points from +47 (66 percent satisfied, 20 percent dissatisfied, correctly rounded).

The President’s net rating among the class ABC rose by nine points to a “very good” +58 (74 percent satisfied, 16 percent dissatisfied) from the “good” +49 (67 percent satisfied, 19 percent dissatisfied) in the previous quarter.

But he got a lower score among the class D or “masa” from a “very good” +51 (69 percent satisfied, 18 percent dissatisfied) in March to a “good” +44 (63 percent satisfied, 19 percent dissatisfied) in June.

Satisfaction with Aquino fell by two points among class E to a “good” +48 (66 percent satisfied, 18 percent dissatisfied) from the “very good” +50 (67 percent satisfied, 17 percent dissatisfied) previously.

Aquino’s net rating stayed “good” among men at +49 (67 percent satisfied, 17 percent dissatisfied, correctly rounded), up from +47 (67 percent satisfied, 20 percent dissatisfied) previously.

Among women, the President obtained a “good” score of +43 (62 percent satisfied, 19 percent dissatisfied), 12 points down from the previous “very good” score of +55 (70 percent satisfied, 16 percent dissatisfied).

The SWS classifies net scores of +70 and above as “excellent;” +50 to +69, “very good;” +30 to +49, “good;” +10 to +29, “moderate,” +9 to -9, “neutral;” -10 to -29, “poor;” -30 to -49, “bad;” -50 to -69, “very bad”; and -70 and below, “execrable.”

Sampling error margins of plus or minus three percentage points for national and plus or minus six percentage points for area percentages were applied in the survey.

Noy unfazed by dip in popularity ratings

The President meanwhile said he remains focused on his objective of improving the lives of Filipinos that survey results were hardly a distraction.

“I am not really that concerned with the popularity (ratings), (whether) it will go up or down,” he told Palace reporters in a chance interview at Rizal Hall in Malacañang.

“What is more important to us, at the end of the day, is that we can face anybody and look at them straight in the eye, telling them that we did our job, not for the purpose of getting media mileage but because it is our mandate to do so,” Aquino said.

Aquino cited the need to check on the situation in Cotabato, which had been flooded since last week.

“This has been our concern from last week, we have been handling that. The DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) has been on top of the situation, they managed to move really heavy equipment that is clearing the waterways that was clogging several bridges,” he said.

“I intend to go to Cotabato and address the concerns of our people there, address it personally because this has been addressed by so many departments since last week,” he said.

‘Wake-up call’

Opposition lawmakers, saying the recent SWS survey is a wake-up call for the President, urged him to take steps to improve his rating.

“Half of the population doesn’t like him anymore that’s why you’ll have to improve your performance. This is a wake-up call already,” House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said.

Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo said Aquino should realize that he is no longer on the campaign trail and should start addressing the problems of the country instead of attacking and blaming the past administration for his woes.

He said Aquino should be made aware that the drop in his satisfaction ratings “is due to his inactions and of his coddling of his KKK (classmates, allies and shooting buddies).”

“There’s less food on the table. And yet the only thing people can relate P-Noy to is his dates with different girls and his fancy for luxury sports cars,” he said.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said Aquino should “buckle down to work and focus on the deteriorating economy.”

“The people cannot just be contented on lip service. Job generation and lowering of prices is in order. Good intention is not enough. No alibis. No excuses. People expect swift and visible alleviation from their economic plight,” Castelo said.

‘Satisfaction rating remains high’

Valenzuela Rep. Rex Gatchalian of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), however, sought to put the latest survey in context, saying the ratings remain “quite high.”

“There is reason to believe that majority of Filipinos are rallying behind his reform agenda. The NPC believes that every citizen should consolidate behind the reform agenda of the President, after all governance and moving this country forward is not just the job of the President but rather it’s every citizen’s responsibility,” he said.

“Remember that past administrations received negative ratings. P-Noy’s satisfaction mark is far from negative. His good governance program enjoys wide support from the public,” Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said.

“Some economic factors, like the rising cost of petroleum productions over which the government has no control, may have affected his rating,” he added.

Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., justice committee chairman, said the five-point fall in the President’s satisfaction level “is insignificant considering the problems that his administration is currently facing.”

“But taking into account all factors, with a 46-percent approval rating, the President still enjoys the confidence and support of the people,” he said.

For her part, Pangasinan Rep. Kimi Cojuangco, a member of the NPC, expressed confidence that the chief executive’s ratings would bounce back “when all his new infra and social development projects commence.”

“People will see a big improvement. I think he really needed a year to reorganize all the different agencies which were plagued by traditional style of management,” she said.

Another administration ally, Rep. Antonio Alvarez of Palawan, said the administration should get to the bottom of why the President’s ratings are falling. He said a high approval level is necessary for the President to undertake major reforms in the second year of his presidency.

“He must have a huge political capital to sell them. It will be a lot easier for a president to initiate right but unpopular measures if he has political capital to spend. If goodwill is depleted, it will be a hard sell on his part,” he said. With Delon Porcalla, Paolo Romero, Jess Diaz, Helen Flores (The Philippine Star)