Satisfaction with PNoy gov’t dips: SWS

MANILA, Philippines (1st UPDATE)  – Net satisfaction with President Benigno Aquino III’s administration dipped 10 percentage points in the latest Social Weather Stations survey (SWS) but its score remained well above previous governments.

The survey, conducted last March 10-13, showed the Aquino administration’s net satisfaction rating dropping from a “very good” +56 in December 2011 to a “good” +46 in March.

Measured against previous governments extending back to the term of President Benigno S. C. Aquino III’s mother, Corazon C. Aquino, the next highest would be the “good” +36 hit in November 1998 during the Estrada administration.

The administration scored very good ratings in helping the handicapped (+57), helping victims of disaster (+50) and promoting human rights (+50).

It scored good ratings in promoting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (+49), foreign relations (+46), helping the poor (+46), transparency in government activities (+42), developing tourism (+42), having clear policies (+41), fighting terrorism (+33), promoting foreign investments (+33) and fighting crime (+31).

It scored moderate ratings in reconciling with communist and Muslim rebels, eradicating graft and corruption and ensuring that no family will be hungry.

The administration scored poorly in one specific issue: resolving the Maguindanao massacre case with justice (-17).

A total of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao participated in the survey. The survey had sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages and ±6% for area percentages.

Glass is half-full

Malacañang is seeing the latest SWS survey on the administration’s ratings as half-full.

Even if the Aquino administration’s net satisfaction ratings went down by ten points, Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte considers this as proof the people’s strong support. “The numbers will show that there is still very strong support for the administration and ‘yun po ‘yung mga nagtutulak sa atin na mas maganda pa po at mas mabuti pa ‘yung gawin natin for the years to come,” she told reporters.

“We recognize that the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on satisfaction with the Aquino administration shows continued appreciation of the initiatives of your government. We have always maintained that surveys are a reflection of the national mood and are valuable tools in feeling the pulse of our people at a given time. With 64% of respondents remaining satisfied with the Aquino administration, we take this as strong support for the straight and narrow path that we have consistently pursued,” she added. — with reports from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News; BusinessWorld