Declining

 In the March 6-19, 2024 Pulse Asia survey, the approval and trust ratings of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr. (BBM) fell dramatically, an early indication of popular dissatisfaction with his performance, his policies and his recent decisions.

In early March this year, BBM enjoyed an approval rating of 55 percent, a trust rating of 57 percent and distrust rating of 15 percent.

BBM’s 55 percent March 2024 approval rating is 13 percentage points lower than his December 2023’s 68 percent, a 19 percent decline. That’s a significant if not a substantial loss of public approval. And with a margin of error of 2.8 percent, 55 could actually be 52.2 percent. Barely more than half (52.2 percent) of Filipinos approve of BBM’s performance today.

More significant than the approval is the disapproval rating, which rose 11 percentage points from just 9 percent in December 2023 to a double-digit 20 percent in early March 2024. The number of people dissatisfied with the President’s performance more than doubled, up a whopping 122 percent. 

Assuming 78 million adult Filipinos (out of 115 million people), 20 percent of them being dissatisfied is equivalent to 15.6 million Filipinos, up from 7 million in December 2023.

A year ago, in March 2023, Marcos Jr. was enjoying stratospheric approval ratings – 78 percent. This made him among the world’s three most popular leaders. His disapproval was minuscule, just 5 percent.

BBM’s approval ratings are in steady decline – 78 percent in March 2023, 65 in September and 68 in December. 

Disapproval, on the other hand, is on an upward swing – 5 percent in March 2023, 10 in September, 9 in December and 20 in March 2024. Disapproval quadrupled in just one year, from 5 percent to 20 percent. In millions of adults, 5 percent was equivalent to 3.9 million dissatisfied; 20 percent is 15.6 million, four times as many.

From March 2023’s 78 percent approval rating to March 2024’s 55 approval rating, BBM’s approval fell by a third or 29 percent, equivalent to nearly 23 million adult Filipinos.

To be sure, Vice President Sara Duterte’s approval ratings also fell significantly in the past one year, from a hefty 83 percent in March 2023 to just 67 percent, a drop of 16 percentage points or by 19 percent.

The Veep’s approval ratings have been steadily declining, 83 in March 2023, 73 in September, 74 in December 2023 and 67 in March 2024.

Why the rising dissatisfaction with the performance of our top officials?

Simple answer: little has changed. Prices remain high, especially of prime commodities, especially rice, fish, meat and vegetables. Corruption is rampant.  Red tape is crippling. 

In the national capital, traffic is hellish and horrendous. Traffic is not the word. It is parking. Thousands of vehicles are parked in most hours of the day on major highways of Metro Manila. A two-kilometer distance takes you 30 minutes in the city. Your dog walks faster than your car.

The Management Association of the Philippines has asked the President to declare a state of traffic emergency. I do not know what good that will do, except to give the impression something is being done about traffic. Nothing is being done.

Have you ever dealt with your barangay to get a permit? Facing the devil might be a more savory experience. At least, the devil is entertaining. 

Dealing with barangays is no fun at all, especially if you are a businessman seeking a permit or a homeowner wanting to install an electric meter in your house. Nationwide, the LGU executives – the mayors and governors – run their local governments like these were their private fiefdoms. They can do no wrong and they cannot dish out permits – unless you come across.

Per the December 2023 poll of the Social Weather Stations (SWS), 25.5 percent of households in the Philippines have experienced involuntary hunger. That’s 6.375 million families out of 25 million households. With four family members per household, 6.375 million families are equivalent to 25.5 million Filipinos. More than 25 million Filipinos had nothing to eat – at least once in the past three months. One out of every four Filipinos has nothing to eat. This is in a country where per Forbes, there are at least 16 dollar billionaires.

The 25.5 percent self-rated food poverty is the highest since BBM assumed the presidency.

If a quarter of Filipinos have nothing to eat, that means millions are malnourished. If you are malnourished, you brain does not grow, does not function. The effect is stupidly. Mass stupidity.

No wonder in international tests for reading, math and science given 15-year-olds from around the world, Filipino teeners scored either next to last or last. Filipinos are the most stupid young people on earth.

Here are the 16 Filipino dollar billionaires per Forbes 2024: 1. Manny Villar $11 billion; 2. Enrique Razon Jr. $10 billion; 3. Ramon S. Ang $3.5 billion; 4. Hans Sy $2.6 billion; 5. Henry Sy Jr. $2.5 billion; 6. Herbert Sy $2.5 billion; 7. Lucio Tan $2.5 billion; 8. Harley Sy $2.4 billion; 9. Teresita Sy Coson $2.3 billion; 10. Elizabeth Sy $2.1 billion;

11. Andrew Tan $2 billion; 12. Tony Tan Caktiong $1.4 billion; 13. Lucio Co $1.2 billion; 14. Susan Co $1.1 billion; 15. Lance Gokongwei $1.1 billion and 16. William Belo $1 billion.

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