Pinoys ‘satisfied’ with govt’s Covid response

By Catherine S. Valente, TMT, Manila Times, 9 May 2020

Filipinos are “satisfied “with President Rodrigo Duterte’s leadership in the country’s response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, according to a foreign online survey.
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Palace spokesman Harry Roque on Friday shared with the media results of the Global Crisis Perceptions index released by insight firms Blackbox Research and Toluna.

The global poll, which was conducted from April 3 to 19, asked 12,500 adult respondents from 23 countries to rate their governments using four key performance indicators — national political leadership, corporate leadership, community and media.

The Philippines ranked 8th on the list of 23 nations, with 49 percent satisfaction rating when it comes to Covid-19 containment measures.

The country scored higher than neighboring Southeast Asian countries Indonesia (48 percent), Singapore (48 percent) and Thailand (36 percent).

Topping the list of countries with the highest approval scores were China (86 percent), Vietnam (77 percent), United Arab Emirates (59 percent), India (59 percent), Malaysia (58 percent), New Zealand (56 percent) and Taiwan (50 percent).

Mexico logged the lowest average satisfaction rating at 37 percent, followed by the United States at 41 percent and Iran at 36 percent.

“Overall, most countries are not performing up to their citizens’ expectations. The Chinese are exceptionally satisfied, which could be attributed to how they are already in their post-Covid-19 recovery phase amid the global outbreak, which gave a sense that China has handled the crisis well,” David Black, founder and chief executive officer of Blackbox Research, said.

“Covid-19 is not the first and will not be the last global pandemic. In order to rebuild public trust and confidence, leaders need to consider the lasting implications and impacts of the crisis in order to emerge from this crisis stronger and more resilient,” he added.

The same survey showed that 45 percent of Filipinos rated “highly” the Duterte government’s efforts to combat Covid-19, while 37 percent also lauded the corporate leaders amid the health crisis in the country.

Thirty-six percent of Filipinos were also happy with the community’s help, while 78 percent believed the national media had performed responsibly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement, Roque welcomed the results of the survey, saying fighting the pandemic was a “collective effort.”

He acknowledged that the government needed the help of the private sector, the media and the community to stop the further spread of Covid-19.

“The government cannot do it alone and we are therefore grateful to the private sector, the
media and the community in general for demonstrating the true

Filipino bayanihan (teamwork) spirit in this extraordinary situation,” the spokesman said.

“Let us continue to show our solidarity with our people and cooperation with authorities, so together, we can truly heal as one nation,” he added.

As of Thursday, Covid-19 infections in the Philippines had climbed to 10,343.

Around 1,618 Covid-19 patients have recovered, while 685 individuals have died of the highly contagious disease.