Rody ratings dip normal but faster than average — SWS

MANILA, Philippines — The dip in President Duterte’s ratings is “normal” although “faster than average” compared with that of his predecessors, the head of the polling firm Social Weather Stations (SWS) said yesterday.

SWS president Mahar Mangahas partly attributed the drop to the rising number of extrajudicial killings in the country.

“All the presidents, their ratings go down. I wouldn’t say that there has to be something violent that happens, but if there’s violence then that’s the worst – like these extrajudicial killings. That (drop) probably would not be that low if not for these things,” Mangahas said.

But for Malacañang, the changes in survey ratings are “part of a cycle” as presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella insisted on different ways of looking at a survey.

“There are several ways of understanding that. I think what we need is a little bit more time to make comparative studies and analysis so that we can make a fuller comprehensive understanding of that report. There are dips and highs and lows and these are part of the cycles, even of a corporation,” Abella said in a press briefing. 

Officials have said that the decrease in the President’s survey numbers was expected since the poll was conducted days after the National Day of Protest, which allowed the public to express anti-government sentiments.

They also admitted that the death of 17-year-old student Kian delos Santos and two other teenagers in the hands of policemen contributed to the lower ratings. 

Chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo refuted notions that the latest survey results signal the beginning of the fall of Duterte, saying over dwFM that, “No matter how you look at it, his rating is still good.”

Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who suffered historic lows including negative ratings, gave unsolicited advice to her political ally: it’s “part of the territory.” 

“The job of a president is not to make popular decisions. He should make decisions for the greater good though unpopular. I had to endure this process myself when I made tough and unpopular decisions that ultimately redounded to the common good,” she recalled. 

According to her, it was natural for ratings to dip as these are “bound to happen in the course” of every chief executive’s six-year term. She was at the helm for nine years after she served the unexpired term of ousted president Joseph Estrada in 2001. 

Duterte’s net satisfaction rating fell from a “very good” +66 to a “good” +48 in the Sept. 23-27 survey of SWS. The non-commissioned poll used face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults nationwide. His net trust rating also plunged to a “very good” +60 from an “excellent” +75 in June.

Mangahas said that although the drop was faster than average when compared to past presidents, he clarified that this is “not something to be proud about yet.”  

“I could say that at least President Duterte has already exceeded Erap. He has not exceeded Ramos, he has not exceeded Cory, and definitely he has not exceeded P-Noy because P-Noy had the best of them all,” he said, referring to former presidents Estrada, Fidel Ramos, Cory Aquino and Benigno Aquino III.

He added that Duterte’s ratings are “better” than that of Estrada but “not as good as” the ratings of Ramos and the Aquinos, noting that Aquino III had the longest honeymoon period, in which he enjoyed good ratings for three years.

Reacting to Malacañang’s statement that while the honeymoon period is over for the Duterte administration, the love is still there, Mangahas said: “A president is not really supposed to expect love, is supposed to expect respect and is supposed to give satisfactory ratings.” 

He added that Duterte needs to maintain good ratings for two more years before he can say he is as popular as those before him.

Arroyo recalled having “suffered even more serious problems with my ratings, precipitated by the same kind of vicious opposition now working to bring down President Duterte.”  

“I responded by focusing instead on performance. It was my intention to leave a real legacy of achievement because it was only the judgment of history that mattered to me,” she said. 

For Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the ratings dip were “strongly indicative of the Filipinos’ frustration over Duterte’s persistent erratic policies, flawed pronouncements and cardinal failures.” 

“The Duterte administration must positively respond to serious indictments rather than sweep these criticisms under the rug. The President and his subalterns must not foment excuses and alibis but should make contrite amends and requisite reforms to arrest the fall of the President’s ratings,” he said in a statement.  – With Alexis Romero, Delon Porcalla, Richmond Mercurio