Palace: Duterte’s ‘very good’ rating helps admin bets dominate surveys

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Thursday attributed President Rodrigo Duterte’s satisfaction rating to the continued dominance of pro-administration senatorial bets in pre-election surveys.

“Kung naniniwala sila kay Presidente, iyong ini-endorse niya eh iyon din ang pinaniniwalaan ng mga botante,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

Duterte, who has been actively campaigning for his preferred candidates in PDP-Laban campaign rallies, maintained his “very good” satisfaction rating in the first quarter of 2019 survey conducted by the Social Weather Station (SWS) released Wednesday.

According to the survey, 79 percent of adult Filipinos were satisfied with Duterte’s performance, while only 13 percent were dissatisfied. The other 8 percent, meanwhile, were undecided. This gives Duterte a net satisfaction rating of +66, higher than his +60 net satisfaction rating in December 2018.

READ: Duterte net satisfaction rating up by 6 points in Q1 2019

On Thursday, Pulse Asia released the probable winners of the May 13 elections.

Eight of Duterte’s preferred senatorial candidates were included in the winning circle, namely, reelectionist Senators Cynthia Villar (2nd), Sonny Angara (3rd to 4th) and Koko Pimentel (11th to 16th); PDP-Laban’s Bong Go (3rd to 5th), Ronald Dela Rosa (6th to 9th), and Francis Tolentino (10-16); former senator Pia Cayetano (4th to 6th), and Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos (9th to 12th).

READ: Grace Poe remains top choice for Senate race – Pulse Asia 

Duterte is also supporting the candidacy of Senator JV Ejercito, former Interior Secretary Raffy Alunan, folk singer Freddie Aguilar, and Maguindanao Rep. Dong Mangudadatu. /kga