Use trust rating to improve lives of Filipinos, Noy urged

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino should use his high trust and approval ratings to improve the lives of Filipinos instead of stoking the people’s anger to distract them from his own shortcomings, opposition lawmakers said yesterday.

House of Representatives Minority Leader Edcel Lagman said trust and approval ratings are very subjective as evidenced by the latest Pulse Asia survey.

While Aquino maintained his ratings, his poll figures on performance went down, he added.

Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay said Aquino’s trust rating is high, yet he does not want to convert that trust rating into other positive results.

“Like I don’t see him using his trust rating to improve the economic condition of our country,” she said. “He does not use his trust rating to improve poverty, hunger, investments, unemployment, high prices of goods and commodities.

“Trust ratings won’t have an effect on the people if they have nothing to eat. You can’t feed them with trust ratings.”

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had very low and even negative survey ratings, but the economy grew under her watch, Magsaysay said.

Lagman said economic data, unemployment figures and crime statistics are solid figures that can generally be relied upon.

“A government agency itself said that the third quarter growth rate was an anemic 3.2 percent,” he said.

“That is solid. That is incontrovertible. That is not subjective that’s why you have to make a distinction between solid economic data and trust ratings, which are really subjective. They are the perception of respondents.”

House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said the country’s Gross Domestic Product is going down, while unemployment, poverty, hunger and criminality are on the rise.

“The only remaining factor that sustains the stability of this government is his (Aquino) popularity,” he said.