Palace: Filipinos’ outlook on quality of life a ‘repudiation’ vs admin critics

Presidential Spokesperson and Chief Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / JOAN BONDOC

MANILA, Philippines—Filipinos’ positive outlook toward their quality of life and the Philippine economy is a “repudiation” against the skeptics of the Duterte administration, Malacañang said Friday.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo issued the statement in response to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing that the number of Filipino who viewed their lives improved over the past 12 months increased by 37 percent from the previous 28 percent of September 2018.

The survey, which was conducted last December 2018, also showed that people were optimistic that the Philippine economy in 2019 would get better.

READ: SWS: More Filipinos believe quality of life improved

“This is another repudiation against the skeptics, left-leaning groups, militant Church members and the political opposition, who ignore or refuse to heed the people’s voice and see nothing good in the President’s tireless efforts to improve and bring about genuine and positive change to the nation,” Panelo said in a statement.

Panelo, who is also Duterte’s chief legal counsel, noted that theresult of the survey “validate previous research studies,” showing a decline in hunger, a decrease among Filipino families who consider themselves “poor,” and an overwhelming number of Filipinos entering 2019 with hope.

“It is therefore not surprising that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte continues to win the hearts and minds of the Filipino people as he enters the midpoint of his six-year presidential term,” Panelo said.

The Palace official, however, conceded that despite these “positive results,” the government is “not resting on its laurels and remains steadfast” to achieving its goal of inclusive growth to provide a comfortable life for the Filipinos. /jpv