‘Disenchantment more pronounced’ — Pulse Asia

President Aquino is considered ineffective in improving the economic conditions of Filipinos despite his still high performance and trust ratings that nonetheless are on the decline, based on the latest survey of Pulse Asia.

Pulse Asia noted in its assessment of the results that “disenchantment with the Aquino administration’s performance on selected national issues (became) more pronounced between (the) August and November surveys.”

The survey showed that approval on Aquino slid to 72 percent of respondents in the November survey down five points from the 77 percent in the August survey. Aquino’s trust rating also declined to 74 percent from the previous survey’s 75 percent.

Disapproval on Aquino also inched up five points to nine percent from four percent previously, while distrust also almost identically fell to nine percent from five percent in the August survey.

More interestingly, however, was the result of the survey on the Aquino administration’s performance on key issues that showed Aquino getting high disapproval ratings on three pressing issues picked by respondents in the survey.

The November survey showed that on the top issue of controlling inflation, which 56 percent of respondents named as a priority, Aquino received 37 percent disapproval and 32 percent approval; and on reducing the poverty of Filipinos that 32 percent sees as priority, Aquino received

37 percent disapproval and 32 percent approval; and on reducing the poverty of Filipinos that 32 percent sees as priority, Aquino received 36 disapproval and 32 percent approval.

Aquino, nevertheless, received high marks in the issue of fighting graft and corruption, cited by 37 percent of respondents as priority, where he received 56 percent approval and 20 percent disapproval; and improving the pay of workers, cited by 47 percent as priority, with a 43 percent approval and 25 percent disapproval.

The survey also showed a double-digit drop in Aquino’s ratings in Mindanao where his approval fell by 11 points from 86 percent to 75 percent between the August and November surveys; and his trust rating diving from 82 percent to 70 percent.

Likewise, noticeable was Aquino’s 11-point drop in his approval rating among the poorest or the Class E social sector despite the P21 billion cash transfer program that is supposedly concentrated on this social class.

“Even as the Aquino administration scores big plurality to small majority approval ratings (42 percent to 56 percent) on nine (out of the 11) national issues, disapproval for the work it has done on seven issues is more pronounced in November than six months ago,” according to Pulse Asia.

During this period, levels of disapproval for the administration’s efforts to equally enforce the law on all Filipinos, create more jobs, strengthen public trust in government and its officials, increase the pay of workers, control population growth, control the increasing prices of commodities and reduce poverty increase (that showed eight to 15 percentage point increases).

Pulse Asia said the survey was conducted from last Nov. 10 to 23 when the dominant issues were the Supreme Court’s issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the watch list order against former President Gloria Arroyo and former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo; acting on orders of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, immigration officials’ preventing the former First Couple from leaving the country despite the SC TRO; the arrest of Arroyo on Nov. 18 on charges of electoral fraud in the May 2007 elections; the murder of a son of former Senator Ramon Revilla Sr. and the alleged involvement of family members in the murder plot; the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit attended by Aquino; and the visit to the country of US State Secretary Hillary Clinton and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.

Pulse Asia said other issues that dominated the headlines during the period were the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) continued campaign against tax evaders; the commemoration of the second anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre; the issuance of a hold departure order against retired Maj. Gen. Jacinto Ligot and his wife following the filing of tax evasion charges against the couple; government financial assistance given to several rebel groups; the Supreme Court decision mandating the distribution of the lands of Hacienda Luisita to about 6,000 farmer beneficiaries; the passage of the national budget by the Senate and depreciation of the peso and increase in diesel prices and power rates.

The survey was taken among 1,200 representative adults who were 18 years old and over.

Pulse Asia stated that most Filipinos continue to express confidence in Aquino despite the different problems being faced by his administration.