PNoy’s trust and approval ratings dip

But register highest in Mindanao

THE RATINGS of exiting Philippine President Benigno Simeon Aquino III plunged to historic lows since he assumed the presidency in 2010 amid the controversies surrounding the January 25 Mamasapano tragedy, the 2015 Ulat ng Bayan Survey of Pulse Asia revealed.

Aquino’s overall approval rating went down to 38 percentage points in the survey conducted by Pulse Asia from March 1-7, 2015 — a decrease of 21 percentage points from November last year. His trust ratings, meanwhile, plunged to 36 percentage points, or a 20-point drop from November 2014.

This is also the first time that the President has posted “non-majority” national approval and trust ratings in the surveys conducted by the pollster since October 2010, or immediately after the Aquino assumed the presidency. At the time, Aquino’s trust ratings stood at a high of 80 percentage points while his approval rating was at 79.

Filipinos in the National Capital Region gave the president the lowest trust and approval ratings at 24 percent and 26 percent, respectively.

Curiously, in Mindanao where the Mamasapano incident took place, Aquino earned the highest trust and approval ratings, both at 45 percent. In the rest of Luzon, the figures stood at 34 and 36 percent, respectively, while in the Visayas, these were 40 and 41 percent, respectively.

Those belonging to the upper and middle socio-economic classes were the least satisfied with Aquino. Classes ABC gave the president trust and approval ratings of 34 and 35 percent respectively, while those belonging to Class D rated him 34 and 35 percent, respectively.

Those belonging to Class E, the lowest socio-economic class, gave the highest ratings at 42 and 47 percent, respectively.

Breaking down the figures further, Pulse Asia said essentially the same percentage of Filipinos “expressed either appreciation for or were not decided regarding the President’s performance in the past three months (38 percent versus 39 percent) while basically the same percentages either trust him or are ambivalent toward his trustworthiness (36 percent versus 37 percent).”

In a nutshell, around one in four Filipinos is critical of presidential performance (23 percent) and distrusts him (27 percent).

The nationwide survey was based on a sample of 1,200 representative adults aged 18 years old and above. It has a margin of error of plus/minus three percent with a 95 percent confidence level. For Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the results have a plus/minus six percent margin of error with the same confidence level.

The president’s survey ratings plunged in the four-month period between November 2014 and March 2015 amid problems being faced by his administration. The Mamasapano encounter between members of the Special Action Force, the Moro Islamic Liberation, and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters dominated the headlines before and during the conduct of the field interviews, Pulse Asia said.

Forty-four members of the SAF, 18 fighters of the MILF, and five civilians were killed during the operation codenamed Exodus, which aimed to capture three suspected terrorists hiding in Mamasapano town.

Issues related to the Mamasapano survey that dominated the headlines in the weeks immediately preceding the conduct of the survey were:

• The declaration by Aquino of January 30, 2015 as a National Day of Mourning for the killed SAF members;

• The President’s absence during the arrival honors for the 42 of the 44 fallen policemen whose bodies arrived at the Villamor Air Base from Maguindanao;

• Aquino’s conferment of the Medalya ng Katapangan upon the 44 slain PNP-SAF policemen during the necrological services held as part of the National Day of Mourning;

• The conduct of several investigations to shed light on what really transpired in Mamasapano and who should be held accountable for the death of the 44 policemen;

• A proposal for the creation of still another body – an independent truth commission – to conduct a probe into the incident;

• Amidst the unresolved questions surrounding the Mamasapano incident, calls for the resignation of President Aquino by several senior bishops belonging to the National Transformation Council (NTC), student groups, and other militant organizations;

• The statement by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that it is not supportive of such calls even as it favors the creation of a truth commission;

• The removal of PNP-SAF Commander Getulio Napeñas from his post on January 27, 2015 following the death of 44 of his men during the Mamasapano encounter;

• The resignation of PNP Director General Alan Purisima on February 5, 2015 amidst reports that he was involved in the decision-making process related to the police operation in Mamasapano whilst under preventive suspension resulting from a graft and corruption charge;

• Reports that disgruntled members of the country’s armed forces are planning to stage a coup against President Aquino in the aftermath of the Mamasapano incident and expressions of loyalty to the Philippine government by high ranking military and police officers who say that they still have to verify such reports; and

• Military operations conducted toward the end of February 2015 by the AFP against the BIFF and the Abu Sayyaf in certain areas of Mindanao reportedly to reduce these groups’ ability to carry out violent attacks against civilians. The military offensive has resulted in casualties on both sides as well as the evacuation of thousands of civilians.

Among the other issues hogging the headlines in the weeks preceding the survey were: the retirement of the chairman and two commissioners of the Commission on Elections; the retirement of the chairperson of the Commission on Audit; the acquittal of former Comelec Chairman Benamin Abalos in the electoral sabotage case filed against him in connection with alleged electoral fraud in North Cotabato during the May 2007 polls; the Supreme Court’s reaffirmation of its decision on the Disbursement Acceleration Program as unconstitutional; the freeze order of the assets of Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla, Jr.; and the Senate hearings on the allegations of corruption against Vice President Jejomar Binay.