INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Seven of 10 Filipinos are not happy with the way the Marcos administration is handling inflation, or the rate of increase in the prices of basic goods and services.
According to a Pulse Asia survey conducted from Dec. 3 to Dec. 7 last year, 73 percent of Filipinos disapproved of the Marcos administration’s performance on inflation, the national issue that concerns them the most. Only 9 percent gave it the thumbs-up.
Because of this, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. got a net approval rating on controlling inflation of -64, the lowest among the 16 issues rated in the Pulse Asia survey.
Controlling inflation was a top concern of the majority across all geographic areas, with 75 percent in Mindanao and in the Visayas, 71 percent in Luzon outside of Manila, and 69 percent in Metro Manila considering it the top national issue.
Among Class ABC, 61 percent deemed inflation an urgent national concern. Class D (72 percent) and Class E (81 percent) also considered it a top concern.
Inflation in the Philippines accelerated to a 14-year high of 8.7 percent in January 2023 primarily due to the surge in local consumer demand and lofty global commodity prices. Fortunately, it started cooling down late last year.
Inflation, as measured by the increase in the consumer price index, eased to a 22-month low of 3.9 percent year-on-year in December 2023 from 4.1 percent in November, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Jobs, poverty
Aside from inflation, Pulse Asia also asked 1,200 respondents to rate the administration’s performance on other national issues.
Increasing the pay of workers, creating more jobs, and reducing poverty emerged as the next most urgent issues for Filipinos.
On the issue of increasing salary, considered a top concern by about two of five Filipinos, the administration received a 34 percent approval rating and a 36 percent disapproval rating, resulting in a -2 net approval score.
On reducing poverty in the country, 24 percent approved of the administration’s efforts while 39 percent disapproved, resulting in a -15 net approval score.
On creating more jobs, 45 percent of Filipinos approved of the Marcos administration’s performance while 23 percent disapproved, resulting in a +22 approval score.
According to the survey, respondents were least concerned about national territorial defense (6 percent), protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (5 percent), and terrorism (5 percent).
The administration received the highest approval of 74 percent in protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers and 72 percent in responding to the needs of areas affected by calamities.
The survey had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.8 percentage points for national data.