Satisfaction with Noy plunges to all-time low
President Benigno Aquino III. STAR/File photo
MANILA, Philippines - Amid relentless criticism of his handling of the Mamasapano incident, President Aquino’s satisfaction rating plunged to its lowest ever – a net of 11 percent in the first quarter.
In the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, 47 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with his performance, 36 percent were dissatisfied and 17 percent undecided. This meant a net satisfaction score of “moderate” 11 from the “good” 39 in the December 2014 survey.
At Malacañang, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the administration can still win over the “undecided” by vigorously implementing priority programs.
Based on the SWS survey published yesterday in the newspaper BusinessWorld, Aquino’s satisfaction ratings dropped across all geographical areas and socioeconomic classes.
In the December 2014 SWS survey, 63 percent expressed satisfaction with Aquino’s work, 24 percent were dissatisfied and 14 percent undecided.
In the Mamasapano incident in Maguindanao, 44 members of the Special Action Force on a mission to arrest terrorists died in clashes last Jan. 25 with guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and its breakaway group the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. Aquino was believed to have held off sending reinforcement to the beleaguered commandos so as not to undermine peace negotiations with the Muslim rebel group.
The latest SWS survey was conducted last March 20 to 23 using face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults nationwide.
SWS classifies net satisfaction ratings of at least +70 as “excellent,” +50 to +69 (very good), +30 to +49 (good), +10 to +29 (moderate), +9 to –9 (neutral), -10 to –29 (poor), -30 to –49 (bad), -50 to –69 (very bad), and –70 and below (execrable).
The survey group also describes movement from one classification to another as either an “upgrade” or “downgrade.”
The President suffered the highest decline in balance Luzon, from a “good” +39 (62 percent satisfied, 23 percent dissatisfied) in December last year to a “neutral” -3 (40 percent satisfied, 43 percent dissatisfied) last month.
It also dropped by 21 points in Mindanao to a “moderate” +25 (55 percent satisfied, 29 percent dissatisfied, rounded off) from a “good” +46 (66 percent satisfied, 20 percent dissatisfied).
In Metro Manila, satisfaction with the President fell by 16 points to a “neutral” +7 (45 percent satisfied, 38 percent dissatisfied) from a “moderate” +23 (55 percent satisfied, 31 percent dissatisfied, rounded off).
It also dropped by 12 points but remained in “good” territory in the Visayas to +30 (57 percent satisfied, 27 percent dissatisfied) from +42 (66 percent satisfied, 24 percent dissatisfied).
Satisfaction with Aquino’s performance likewise plummeted in urban areas to a “neutral” +3 (44 percent satisfied, 41 percent dissatisfied) last month from a “good” +37 (61 percent satisfied, 24 percent dissatisfied) in December.
His rating in rural areas dropped by 18 points to a “moderate” +23 (52 percent satisfied, 29 percent dissatisfied) from a “good” +41 (64 percent satisfied, 23 percent dissatisfied) previously.
Down in all classes
Aquino’s rating also fell across socioeconomic classes in March, the pollster said.
It slipped by two grades and by 43 points among those in class ABC to a “neutral” +6 (41 percent satisfied, 35 percent dissatisfied) from a “good” +49 (65 percent satisfied, 16 percent dissatisfied).
It also went down by 27 points among those in class E to a “moderate” +18 (49 percent satisfied, 32 percent dissatisfied, rounded off) from a “good” +45 (66 percent satisfied, 22 percent dissatisfied, correctly rounded).
Aquino’s rating among those in class D or “masa” fell by a grade and 27 points to a “moderate” +10 (47 percent satisfied, 37 percent dissatisfied) from +37 (62 percent satisfied, 25 percent dissatisfied).
The same survey, meanwhile, found half of Filipinos were against calls from some quarters for the resignation of Aquino.
The March survey found 50 percent disagreeing and 32 percent agreeing with such call, while 18 percent were undecided.
Aquino received a “good” +31 (59 percent satisfied, 28 percent dissatisfied) net satisfaction rating among respondents opposed to calls for his resignation.
The SWS poll has sampling error margins of plus or minus three percentage points for national percentages and six percentage points each for Metro Manila, balance Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
Aquino’s approval and trust ratings plummeted to 38 percent (from 59 percent) and 36 percent (from 56 percent), respectively, in the latest Pulse Asia survey taken from March 1 to 7.
Reaching out
Coloma said the latest SWS survey results indicate that many Filipinos are still satisfied with the President’s performance and fewer people want him to resign.
“There is also a significant segment that is undecided about his performance (16 percent) and about his resignation (18 percent),” Coloma stressed, referring to the survey results.
“This represents an opportunity for reaching out to those who are undecided or ambivalent in their sentiments towards the President and the administration and eventually winning them over,” the Palace spokesman declared in a statement.
Coloma opined that Aquino may have obtained a higher 47 percent rating in SWS compared to the previous 38 percent in the Pulse Asia survey after people have “been able to know and understand better the President’s position on the Mamasapano incident.”
Nevertheless, Aquino and his Cabinet “are firmly determined to carry on with the implementation of salient reform and development programs geared toward achieving the primary objective of attaining inclusive growth and improving the quality of life of their bosses – the Filipino people.”
“In the next 15 months, we will continue to stay focused on priority programs such as infrastructure development, employment generation and poverty reduction and improved social protection,” Coloma pointed out.
“Transparent and responsive governance along the righteous path will be pursued, so that public institutions may be strengthened, the transformation process may be sustained and that the concrete gains achieved will become permanent,” he said.
Focus on issues
Senators said President Aquino should focus on addressing the country’s main concerns if he wants to win back the public’s trust and confidence.
Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito urged the President to give greater attention to the looming power crisis, weak infrastructure and shaky peace and order situation in his last year in office.
“Try to be more sensitive to the feelings and pulse of the people too. This will be the only way he can gain back the trust of the people, which was lost after Mamasapano,” Ejercito said.
He said it would also help if the President would try to be less vindictive and “be a magnanimous President this time.”
Sen. Francis Escudero said the President and his officials should not just dismiss the latest survey result.
“That is what the survey said. It’s a snap shot of what people think/feel at a given point in time. The Palace should not simply brush it aside and ignore it,” Escudero said.
“They should accept it, take it under advisement, move forward and keep on working to improve peace and order, the economy and quality of life of the people,” he added.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said he believes “time and good governance will help heal the wounds of distrust.”
The plunge in the satisfaction rating for the President is not surprising, according to Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“It’s no wonder that he has lost the people’s trust. His story on his involvement (in the Mamasapano incident) keeps changing. Then when he’s caught out by different inquiry reports, he does not explain what really happened,” Marcos said.
“Furthermore, he has questioned all the findings of the PNP and the Senate and only seems to agree with the MILF report,” he added.
Despite the record low satisfaction rating for the President, Sen. Ralph Recto said the latest SWS survey results still showed majority support for the administration.
“Satisfaction ratings do go down from time to time. What is important is satisfaction ratings should be a majority. (Above 50 percent), which means majority approval,” Recto said.
“At 46 percent satisfied means he is supported by more Filipinos than who voted for him in 2010. P-Noy still has a net gain of four percent. He can still recover and gain majority if and when economy improves and is felt by more Filipinos,” Recto said, noting that Aquino only got 42 percent of the votes when he won in the presidential elections in 2010.
For Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, the Mamasapano fiasco would continue to shave points from Aquino’s performance ratings – possibly until he sufficiently explains his role in the incident.
“If he does not answer the 20 questions that we have raised, this issue will continue to fester,” he said.
With plunging satisfaction rating, it would be harder for Aquino to press for the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in Congress, Marikina City Rep. Romero Quimbo said.
“It (pushing for BBL passage) makes it even more challenging, especially because this is related to the main issue, the Mamasapano bloodbath, which has not been handled well by the executive branch,” Quimbo said.
But he expressed belief Aquino can still recover from the slump since the decline was due to only one incident.
Quimbo recalled that Aquino sustained a major ratings plunge in the aftermath of the Luneta hostage crisis in 2010 but was able to rebound.
“He (Aquino) will just have to continue to focus implementing programs for job generation and eradicating poverty,” Quimbo said.
Easter Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said he believes the President’s ratings would eventually rebound.
“The many accomplishments of the Aquino administration are being overshadowed by Mamasapano. Once the controversy over this tragic incident is over, people will again realize that it is the President’s leadership and good governance campaign that have transformed the nation from Asia’s economic laggard to one of the region’s fastest-growing economies,” he said. With Delon Porcalla, Christina Mendez, Marvin Sy, Paolo Romero, Jess Diaz
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