(Eagle News) — The Palace on Thursday, April 11, hit critics of President Rodrigo Duterte , following results of a recent Social Weather Stations survey that found that 79 percent of Filipinos were satisfied with the President’s performance.
“The message of the survey is crystal clear. The more the critics and detractors malign President Duterte, the higher the rating he gets,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.
According to Panelo, “these political adversaries are being swallowed by their own hubris,” as they are “being repudiated”survey after survey.
He said Duterte’s critics “appear to be ensconced if not entangled in their own web of lies that they cannot unshackle themselves from it” and remain “deaf to the voice of a great majority of our people and blind to the sweeping changes in the political and social landscape.”
Panelo said Duterte’s critics should join the majority of the people in supporting the administration’s programs instead of continuing with their “hate campaign” against the President, who was “fiercely devoted devoted to – and protective of – the interest of the greater masses of our people” and was “racing against time” to fulfill his promises.
“No negative force will detract him from his goal of liberating the people from the causes that enslave them and stunt the growth of the country,” Panelo said.
“Destiny has placed this President at the helm of this troubled land, so it is his destiny to remove it from its distress and lead it to a state of peace and progress,” he added.
The March 2019 survey found Duterte had a net satisfaction rating of +66, which was higher by six points from the +60 he got in December 2018 and surpassed his personal best posted in June 2017.
The survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,440 adult Filipinos.
Duterte is almost on his third year in the presidency.