(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte had an 88 percent approval rating and an 87 percent trust rating in June, up from his previous ratings in the last survey in March this year, according to the latest Pulse Asia Survey.
The survey fieldwork conducted from June 15 to 21, 2018 used face to face interviews, using a probability sample of 1,800 registered voters 18 years old and above, nationwide.
It had a + 2% error margin at the 95% confidence level.
Based on the latest Pulse Asia Survey, the President’s approval ratings went up by 8 percent nationwide, or from 80 percent last March to 88 percent this June.
His trust ratings also went up by 9 percent nationwide, or from 78 percent last March to 87 percent this June.
Vice-President Leni Robredo, on the other hand, had a 62 percent approval rating, which represented an increase by seven points from her previous rating of 55 percent in March. Her trust rating was at 56 percent, up by three points from the previous 53 percent in March.
Pulse Asia noted that Duterte, Robredo and two other top government officials, former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez experienced an increase in approval and trust ratings in this latest survey, although the President was still the government official with the highest approval and trust ratings among the four.
“At the national level, all four (4) government officials experience gains in public approval for their performance during the period March to June 2018 – President Duterte (+8 percentage points), Vice-President Robredo (+7 percentage points), former Senate President Pimentel (+11 percentage points), and House Speaker Alvarez (+6 percentage points),” Pulse Asia noted.
It also noted the increase in percentage points of the approval ratings of the officials in Metro Manila, and other parts of the country.
-Increase across geographic areas, socio-economic classes noted-
“Across geographic areas and socio-economic classes, the same officials experience improvements in their respective approval ratings in Metro Manila (+20 to +27 percentage points) and in Class D (+7 to +11 percentage points),” the Pulse Asia report said.
“Vice-President Robredo, former Senate President Pimentel, and House Speaker Alvarez also register gains in their approval scores in Mindanao (+16 to +21 percentage points). In contrast, disapproval for the work done by President Duterte, former Senate President Pimentel, and House Speaker Alvarez becomes less pronounced in Metro Manila (-13 to -27 percentage points) while Vice-President Robredo’s disapproval rating declines in Mindanao (-12 percentage points),” it explained.
The Pulse Asia survey also noted the increase in over-all trust ratings of the four officials, in contrast to the increase in the distrust score of ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
The Pulse Asia survey in June was conducted amid the Supreme Court’s tackling of the quo warranto petition against Sereno that sought her ouster. In fact, the high court on June 19 affirmed, via an 8-6 vote, its earlier decision, via an 8-6 vote, that ousted Sereno.
“The overall trust ratings of President Duterte, former Senate President Pimentel, and House Speaker Alvarez go up between March and June 2018 (+9 to +11 percentage points),” it said.
“In contrast, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sereno’s distrust score increases during this period (+8 percentage points),” the Pulse Asia report noted.
Aside from the Sereno ouster, other headlines that dominated the news during or immediately prior to the survey period were the following:
- the start of the regional consultations on the draft federal constitution;
- the arrest of more than 7,000 loiterers or “tambays” in Metro Manila alone since the order for the police to be stricter against loiterers;
- the killing of Fr. Richmond Nilo in Zaragoza, Nueva Ecija on 10 June 2018 and that of Mayor Ronald Tirol of Buenavista, Bohol on 27 May 2018; the passage on third and final reading of their respective versions of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL);
- and the suspension of the peace negotiations between the Philippines and the National Democratic Front (NDF), among others.
