More Pinoys unhappy with gov’t effort vs poverty

MANILA, Philippines - More Filipinos are dissatisfied with the government’s efforts in promoting peace and the rule of law as well as curbing poverty and inflation, a latest Pulse Asia survey showed.

Three in 10 Filipinos (29 percent) disapproved of the government’s performance in terms of “increasing peace in the country.”

This was up by eight percentage points from 21 percent disapproval rating in November last year.

Forty percent of Filipinos, on the other hand, are still satisfied with the government’s peace efforts. The latest figure, however, is lower than the 45 percent approval rating recorded in November.

The Pulse Asia survey was conducted among 1,200 Filipino adults from March 1 to 7, over a month after the botched Mamasapano operation, which left 44 police commandos dead.

Disapproval in the government’s efforts in “enforcing the law on all, whether influential or ordinary people” also increased from 21 percent in November to 29 percent this month.

Satisfaction with the government’s law enforcement efforts remained steady at 41 percent, Pulse Asia said.

The survey also found more Filipinos who said they were dissatisfied with the government’s efforts to address poverty and control inflation.

The Pulse Asia’s March 2015 Ulat ng Bayan Survey found 41 percent of respondents disapproved of how the administration is handling inflation, against 29 percent who said they were satisfied and 30 percent undecided.

Forty percent of Filipinos also disapproved of the government’s initiatives to address poverty. The remaining 28 percent expressed approval and 32 percent were ambivalent on the matter.

The Pulse Asia survey revealed that controlling inflation, increasing the pay of workers and fighting corruption remained the most urgent concerns among Filipinos at 46 percent, 44 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

“The Aquino administration failed to score a majority approval rating on any of the 12 issues on which it is performance-rated in March 2015,” Pulse Asia said.