Satisfaction with gov’t stays ‘very good’

By Raynan F. Javil, Reporter  | Posted on January 10, 2017

That yielded a net satisfaction rating of +61 (% “satisfied” minus % “dissatisfied”) — classified by the SWS as “very good” — but which was nevertheless five points less than September’s “very good” +66 (75% satisfied, eight percent dissatisfied, rounded off).

The SWS classifies net satisfaction ratings of at least +70 as “excellent”; +50 to +69 as “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” as well as -70 and below as “execrable.”

Former President Benigno S. C. Aquino III’s government was the only other administration after that of his mother, the late President Corazon C. Aquino, that obtained “very good” net satisfaction ratings in its first two quarters at +64 each for September and November 2010. Net satisfaction ratings of earlier administrations in their first two quarters were “moderate” +27 in March 2001 and “moderate” +12 in July 2001 for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, “moderate” +19 in September 1998 and “good” +36 in November 1998 for Joseph E. Estrada, and “good” +32 in September 1992 and “good” +30 in December 1992 for Fidel V. Ramos. While the first two quarters of the Corazon C. Aquino administration were not covered since SWS surveys became quarterly only in 1992, her government got an initial “moderate” +23 in February 1989.

The SWS noted that out of 16 performance issues comprising a Governance Report Card, the Duterte administration got “very good” scores in six subjects, “good” ratings in eight and “moderate” in two others.

Net rating was “very good” in:

• “helping the poor” at +66, up from the “very good” +63 in the September survey;
• “promoting human rights” at +56, down seven points from a “very good” +63 in September;
• “defending the country’s territorial rights” at +54 from the previous “very good” +53;
• “providing jobs” at +51, eight points and one grade up from a “good” +46;
• “fighting crimes” at +50, though down eight points from a “very good” +58;
• and “developing science and technology” at +50, an upgrade from September’s “good” +49.

It was “good” in:

• “ensuring an efficient transportation system” at +48, nine points more than the “good” +39 in the September survey;
• “foreign relations” at +46, seven points more the “good” +39 in September;
• “eradicating graft and corruption” at +45, down 12 points from the previous “very good” +57;
• “Fighting terrorism” at +41, a 14-point drop from a “very good” +55;
• “ensuring that no family will ever be hungry” at +34, three points down from a “good” +37;
• “reconciliation with Muslim rebels” at +33, nine points down from September’s “good” +42;
• “reconciliation with communist rebels” at +30, similarly nine points less than the previous “good” +39;
• and “solving the problem of extra judicial killings or EJK” — which was included in the governance report card for the first time — at +40.

The administration bagged a “moderate” +25 in “fighting inflation,” eight points and one grade down from September’s “good”+33, and a “moderate” +24 in “recovering the ‘hidden wealth’” of the late former strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos and his cronies which was included in the survey for the first time.

Net satisfaction rating of the administration stayed “excellent” in Mr. Duterte’s bailiwick, Mindanao, at +78, though three points lower than the record-high “excellent” +81 logged in September.

It stayed “very good” in the Visayas at +58 and in “Balance Luzon” at +56, though both were four points town from their September scores. Net rating in Metro Manila also stayed “very good” at +53, but this was a 13-point drop from September’s +66.

Net satisfaction scores stayed “very good” across socioeconomic classes — steady at +62 for class “E” and at +55 for class “ABC” — but seven points down to +61 among respondents belonging to class “D,” or the masa.

Sought for comment, Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar said in a mobile phone reply: “We see the results as a validation that for all the political noise emanating from certain quarters, our people can still see the government’s firm resolve to sustain our momentum as Asia’s best-performing economy.”

Sought separately for comment, University of Santo Tomas political science professor Edmund S. Tayao said in a telephone interview that the drop in overall net satisfaction rating was “statistically insignificant” as it was within the margin of error. “He (Mr. Duterte) remains popular mainly because there are no main issues that will… convince the public to weaken support for the administration,” he noted.

Mr. Tayao attributed the significant drops in scores when it comes to “eradicating graft and corruption” and “fighting terrorism” to the public’s preoccupation with news on the fight against the narcotics trade. “[S]o hindi napaguusapan ‘yung graft and corruption; hindi napaguusapan ‘yung terrorism,” he said.

The drop in rating on promoting human rights and fighting crimes, Mr. Tayao said, could be because “these may be linked by the public to war against drugs.”

The drop in rating among “masa” respondents may also be traced to the anti-narcotics war, “kasi sila talaga ‘yung tinatamaan ng (because they are bearing the brunt of) Oplan Tokhang,” Mr. Tayao said, referring to the operation’s code name.

He also said Metro Manila has been the “most unstable” in ratings for any incumbent administration, noting: “All controversies that downgrade the numbers of any sitting president would likely start in Metro Manila.”