Seven out of 10 Filipinos said they were worried about President Rodrigo Duterte’s health, the results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll indicated.
The noncommissioned survey, taken from Dec. 13 to 16, 2019, found that 72 percent of 1,200 respondents were worried about Mr. Duterte’s health, a figure almost unchanged from the 74 percent recorded in June 2019.
Concern about the President’s health remains high in Mindanao at 77 percent, followed by Visayas at 75 percent, Metro Manila at 73 percent, and Luzon outside of Manila at 69 percent.
Majority of the respondents, or 61 percent, said they believed Mr. Duterte’s health is “a public matter that is why the public should be informed of everything about this.”
A similar sentiment was expressed in September 2018 when 61 percent said the President’s state of health was a public matter.The latest SWS survey also showed that net satisfaction with the general performance of Mr. Duterte rose to a record high of +72, or “excellent” in the last quarter of 2019.
The survey found that 82 percent of respondents nationwide were satisfied with the Duterte administration, while 10 percent were dissatisfied and 8 percent were undecided.The latest figures yielded an “excellent” net satisfaction rating (satisfied minus dissatisfied) of +72, or seven points higher than the “very good” +65 score in September 2019.
The current rating is also four points higher than the previous record of “very good” or +68 in June 2019.
SWS considers a rating of +70 and above as “excellent”; +50 to +69, “very good”; +30 to +49, “good”; +10 to +29, “moderate”; +9 to -9, “neutral”; -10 to -29, “poor”; -30 to -49, “bad”; -50 to -69, “very bad”; and -70 and below, “execrable.”
President’s promisesThe December 2019 survey also found that 52 percent of Filipinos expect the President to fulfill “all or nearly all or almost all” of his promises.
Sixteen percent answered “all or nearly all,” 36 percent answered “most,” 42 percent answered “a few,” and 5 percent answered “none or almost none.”The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
In Malacañang, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar hailed the results of the survey, and said that Mr. Duterte’s high rating even after the midterm period was unlike those of previous administrations.
“This means that the President has the support of the people, for which he is very thankful. But more than that, the people support him because they feel his legacy of real change,” Andanar said in a statement.
Mr. Duterte keeps his promises, he said. —WITH REPORTS FROM LEILA B. SALAVERRIA AND INQUIRER RESEARCH