Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5) — Ninety-one percent of Filipinos surveyed were satisfied with the performance of President Rodrigo Duterte eight months into the country's COVID-19 crisis that has disrupted the lives and livelihood of millions of Filipinos, an independent pollster has found.
Pulse Asia on Monday reported the findings of its nationwide survey conducted from Sept. 14 to 20 on 1,200 adults nationwide.
The President's approval rating increased by 4 percentage points compared to the rating he received in You do not have permission to view the full content of this post. Log in or register now. — a month before the country recorded its first COVID-19 infection. Only 5 percent disapproved of his performance, while 5 percent were undecided. His trust rating also went up by 8 percentage points to 91 percent.
Vice President Leni Robredo received a 57 percent approval rating, down by one percentage point compared to the rating she received in the Pulse Asia survey conducted in the end of 2019. Her trust rating dropped by 3 percentage points to 50 percent in September despite her office's numerous COVID-19 initiatives.
Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III garnered 84 percent approval rating, similar to the score he received in December 2019.
Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, who is at the center of a leadership tussle in the House of Representatives, suffered a double-digit drop of 10 percentage points in his approval rating, which plunged to 70 in a span of nine months.
His trust rating fell 9 percentage points from 76 to 67 percent.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta — who was appointed chief magistrate in October 2019 — only received a 44 percent approval rating and 39 percent trust rating as only 68 percent of those surveyed were aware of him and his position in the judiciary.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque attributed the stark difference in the ratings of Duterte and Robredo to their leadership styles amid the pandemic.
"Ang pangako po talaga ng Presidente, gagawin niya ang lahat para makabangon po tayo sa pandemyang ito at isasantabi po talaga niya ang pulitika..." he said in a media briefing. "Madam VP, mukhang tama ang aking sinabi: ayaw ata ng Pilipinong namumulitika sa panahon ng pandemya."
[Translation: The President's promise is set aside politics and recover from the pandemic. Madam VP, I was right that Filipinos don't like politicking amid the pandemic.]
