U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo talks to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during Monday’s luncheon at the Malacañang Palace. Raimondo is leading a high-level mission in the country from March 11-12 joined by American business leaders and senior corporate executives to discuss “business development incentives and regulatory reforms”. (INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ)
MANILA, Philippines — The double-digit decline in trust and approval ratings of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. might have stemmed from his support for Charter change (Cha-cha), House Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro said on Wednesday.
In February of this year, Marcos expressed his support for amending the 1987 Constitution, but only on its economic provisions since these amendments are “strategically aimed” at boosting the country’s economy.
READ: Approval, trust ratings for Marcos, Duterte fall—Pulse Asia
Castro connected this to the latest Pulse Asia survey results, showing that Marcos’ approval and trust ratings decreased by 13 points from 68 in December 2023 to 55 in March 2024 and 16 points from 73 in December 2023 to 57 in March 2023, respectively.
“The same can be said for the other top officials in the survey, with Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri being the only one to gain a minimal 2 percent increase for not rushing Charter Change. However, this may also lead to a decline when the Senate approves Cha-cha,” Castro said, pertaining to Zubiri’s two-point increase in trust rating now at 53 percent and three-point increase in approval rating from 49 to 52 percent.
“It just goes to show that an overwhelming majority of Filipinos are against Cha-cha in whatever form. So, it would be best for the Marcos Jr. administration to stop wasting time and resources on it and drop it now so that it can concentrate more on what the Filipino people truly need,” she added.
READ: Despite Pulse Asia survey, solons insist Cha-cha is key to ease barriers
According to the lawmaker, her claim is also based on the Pulse Asia survey results on Cha-cha, which showed that 88 percent of the respondents said the Constitution should not be amended or touched, 8 percent said it should be amended now, and 4 percent remain undecided.
Aside from Marcos, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte’s trust and approval ratings likewise decreased by seven points, from 78 to 71 percent and from 74 to 67 percent, respectively.
Castro stressed that these results reflect the sentiments of Filipino people on issues such as Cha-cha and the stand of key officials about it.