Malacañang opted to remain grounded in aiming for the “tangible benefits” of President Benigno S. Aquino III’s regime of good governance, as it welcomed the results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) public satisfaction survey on his performance.
An opinion poll conducted by the SWS last week showed that 58 percent among 1,200 Filipino adults nationwide, are satisfied with President Aquino, 26 percent thought otherwise, while 16 percent were undecided for a net satisfaction rating of +32.
Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. recognized these results, which remained “good” per SWS terminology, noting that the government’s poverty alleviation and social development programs have factored in the decision of the public.
“We note that the President’s net satisfaction ratings remained ‘Good’ on socio-economic classes ABC and E at +44 and +45, respectively while registering a ‘Moderate’ rating of +28 for class D,” Secretary Coloma said in a statement released on Wednesday.
“We note further that socio-economic Class E constitutes the main benefactors of the government’s poverty alleviation and social development programs, such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps,” he added.
Coloma said President Aquino is determined to deliver on all the priority reform and development programs in the remaining seven months of his term and is committed to continue serving in the best possible manner, as he views the presidency as a covenant with the people.
For his part, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda described the survey figures as “historically high” and found it “encouraging” but said they would rather measure the success of the Aquino administration “by other metrics that reflect the quality of life of our citizens”.
“The Aquino administration continues to do its work not for survey results but toward the more tangible benefits of good governance—poverty alleviation, job increase, and economic expansion,” Secretary Lacierda said in a separate statement.
Recent reports of underemployment decreasing to 17.6 percent and unemployment dropping to its lowest level at 5.7 percent in a decade have supported these goals, Lacierda said, besides the 6 percent growth of the economy in the previous quarter.
He also noted that initial results of a study conducted on the beneficiaries of the 4Ps show that 1.4 million households have already been able to rise above the poverty line as a result of the program.
“Indeed, the administration’s guiding principle of Daang Matuwid is truly oriented toward the Filipino people. Grounded in service, the administration constantly works to maximize gains for both present and future generations of Filipinos,” Lacierda said.
“Moving forward, we will continue to work toward realizing the dream of every citizen: to have a more peaceful, prosperous, and inclusive Philippines,” the Palace official concluded. (PCOO)