|
Six out of 10 Filipinos are not satisfied with the performance of
President Gloria Arroyo, according to the results of a Social
Weather Stations (SWS) survey released Friday.
President Arroyo’s net satisfaction rating
fell to minus 38, the lowest since 1986. The previous low of minus
33 was reported in May 2005.
Her net rating for the second quarter is 12
points lower that her previous rating of minus 26. SWS said it was
the President’s fourth-consecutive quarterly drop in net rating
since June 2007.
“For the first time, gross dissatisfaction is
at majority levels in all study areas: 63 percent in Metro Manila,
60 percent in the balance of Luzon, 56 percent in the Visayas and 62
percent in Mindanao,” the SWS poll showed.
Her net satisfaction rating in the Visayas,
where she customarily draws her strongest support, fell by 18 points
from March to June.
The rating fell by 8 points in Mindanao, by
13 points in Luzon (excluding the capital region), and by 3 points
in Metro Manila.
SWS also reported that its June 2008 survey
found “dissatisfaction worsening in all socio-economic classes,
with the middle-to-upper classes or ABCs, just as dissatisfied now
as the masa or class D.”
The net satisfaction rating of Mrs. Arroyo fell
the most among the middle to upper classes or ABCs, falling 23
points.
The President’s rating fell by 11 points among
the class D—to which the poor masses belong—from net minus 24 in
March to net minus 35 in June, setting another record-low. The
previous record-low for class D was minus 34, also in May 2005.
The President’s net rating fell by 8 points in
class E, from net minus 37 in March to minus 45 in June, also the
lowest net rating in that socioeconomic bracket.
SWS said its 2008 second-quarter survey on the
President’s satisfaction rating was non-commissioned. It was
conducted from June 27 to 30, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200
adults. Margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent for national
percentages, and plus or minus 6 percent for area percentages.
Palace rationalize ratings
President Arroyo’s latest negative net
satisfaction rating was a result of a “correct but unpopular
decisions” to address food and energy problems in the country,
Cerge Remonde, the chief of the Presidential Management Staff, said
in a statement also on Friday. He referred to the ratings as “a
necessary part of the huge burden of governance.”
He said the nationwide clamor to remove the
12-percent expanded value-added tax (E-VAT) on petroleum products is
affecting the President’s popularity. “The President is paying
the high price for making the right decisions on very unpopular
issues, such as the E-VAT.”
Despite her diminishing approval rating, Remonde
said Mrs. Arroyo remains strong and confident in her decisions,
adding that “while the President is sensitive to public opinion,
she took an oath that requires her to do what is right, not what is
popular.”
Palace Deputy spokesman Lorelie Fajardo said
they were not surprised by the latest survey result, because “as a
country we are all suffering from the world economic downturn.
Factors beyond our control have seriously assaulted our economy and
our way of life.”
”The sound economic and fiscal program of government has provided
us with the necessary buoyancy that has so far kept us afloat in
these rough seas,” Fajardo said, adding that the President’s
popularity “is not what is important at this time.”
”The President and her economic team would
rather buckle down to the nitty-gritty of seeking ways to help
cushion the effect of the world economic situation and just see to
the immediate and effective implementation of programs to benefit
our people . . . it maybe lonely at the top but President is
committed to see us through these challenges,” Fajardo said.
House reacts
Rep. Anton Lagdameo of Davao del Norte also on
Friday praised the President for making tough but correct decisions.
“Any president who wants to be popular can
simply order that gas be retailed at P20 per liter, rice at P10 a
kilo, the minimum wage to increase to P1,000 a day, zero taxes on
goods and no traffic fines,” Lagdameo said in a text message to
The Manila Times.
Rep. Antonio Alvarez of Palawan said Mrs. Arroyo
is not running for Miss Universe. Instead, she is running the
country on a minimal budget, he added.
“Pity her, two events beyond her control are
being dumped on her lap. The first was an act of nature, Typhoon
Frank, which walloped [the] Visayas but has whiplashed the President
from undeserved criticisms, despite her directives before, during
and after the storm to bring aid and comfort to those who are
affected,” he emphasized in his text message.
-- Rommel C. Lontayao, Angelo S. Samonte and Sammy Martin
|
