PRESIDENT Duterte’s net approval rating dropped by 3 points in the third quarter of 2019 due to a drop in approval from the masses and the people from Luzon and Mindanao, a September 27 to 30 survey from the Social Weather Station (SWS) showed.
The SWS results were nearly similar to the findings of Pulse Asia which said that, based on its third quarter Ulat sa Bayan survey done from September 16 to 22, the approval rating of the President fell by 7 points to 78 percent (from 85 percent in June 2019) and the trust rating dropping by 11 points to 74 percent (from 85 percent).
The latest SWS poll, which involved 1,800 adult respondents with a margin of error of ±2.3 percent, showed the President scoring a “very good” +65 (78 percent satisfied, 9 percent undecided, and 13 percent dissatisfied) down from his record high “very good” +68 (80 percent satisfied, 9 percent undecided, and 12 percent dissatisfied) in June.
SWS classifies a net Satisfaction rating — satisfaction percentage minus dissatisfaction percentage as “excellent” if +70 and above, “very good” if +50 to +69, “good” if +30 to +49, “moderate” if +10 to +29, “neutral” if +9 to -9, “poor” if -10 to -29, “bad” if -30 to -49, “very bad” if -50 to -69, and “execrable” if -70 and below.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said Malacanang welcomed the latest SWS results, claiming the “the dip in satisfaction…(is) insignificant” as it falls within the survey’s a sampling margin of error.
“While the President would simply shrug off his survey numbers, saying he is not interested in any popularity contest relative to his governance because with or without a soaring satisfaction rating, he is unaffected and will just continue to do his constitutional task of serving and protecting the people even at the loss of his life, liberty and honour,” Panelo said.
He said the Filipinos remain “enamored with President Duterte” and his policies and actions of governance to the consternation and envy of his incorrigible critics and detractors.
“As payback to our people’s outpour of affection to PRRD (Duterte), the Office of the President calls on everyone in the bureaucracy to remain tireless and hardworking in the service of the nation as we continue to build President Duterte’s legacy of building a nation where Filipinos are comfortable, safe and secure,” he added.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has given Duterte a clean bill of health despite having the rare myasthenia gravis disease, a rare muscular disease.
Speaking at a media forum in Manila, Duque said: “He is quite fit for the job because, my personal assessment, is that he is a strong man to be able to do his job, which is very taxing, demanding, high pressure job. It’s the most difficult job on Earth: the presidency.”
“There is no indication of the illness or illnesses mentioned having any effect on his effectiveness… this is not debilitating the President’s work, and his ability to function and work,” said Duque.
Last Saturday, Duterte disclosed that he has the rare muscle disease called myasthenia gravis. Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in the skeletal muscles, and usually manifests in the muscles of the eyes and eyelids, facial expressions, chewing, swallowing, and speaking.
Other known diseases of Duterte are Buerger’s disease, and Barrett’s esophagus. — With Gerard Naval
