Administration scores highest in law and order, survey says

MANILA, Philippines—The Aquino administration received majority approval ratings on only two of the 11 national issues it was rated on while getting mixed scores on the other concerns that Filipinos deemed most urgent, the latest Pulse Asia survey showed.

The survey, conducted from March 19 to 26, showed that the issues most needing the immediate attention of the administration were controlling inflation (50 percent), increasing the pay of workers (48 percent) and fighting corruption (44 percent).

The two issues the administration earned majority approval scores on were fighting criminality (59 percent) and ensuring peace in the country (52 percent).

A plurality sentiment of approval was noted on four issues—enforcing the rule of law (50 percent), fighting corruption in government (50 percent), defending the country’s territorial integrity (48 percent, an issue first rated in the March survey), and stopping environmental degradation (48 percent).

In the survey, those who approved of and those undecided were almost tied on the issues of creating jobs (41 percent and 39 percent), controlling population growth (40 percent and 39 percent), and increasing the pay of workers (38 percent versus 39 percent).

With regard to the issue of controlling inflation, virtually the same percentages expressed either disapproval or were undecided (34 percent and 40 percent).

While criticism on the government’s performance on these issues eased between December and March, the percentages of those who were undecided increased.

The issues identified as the least urgent were stopping environmental degradation (18 percent), promoting peace (16 percent) and controlling population growth (15 percent).

On the issue of controlling inflation, 26 percent of the respondents expressed approval in March from 28 percent in December; while 40 percent were undecided up from 29 percent and 34 percent disapproved, down from 44 percent.

The approval score on the issue of improving or increasing the pay of workers was 38 percent in March from 36 percent at the end of 2013, while the percentage of the undecided rose from 34 percent to 39 percent, and those who disapproved decreased from 29 percent to 23 percent.

Half of the respondents approved of the Aquino administration’s performance in terms of fighting graft and corruption in the government compared to 45 percent in December while 30 percent of the respondents were undecided compared to the previous 24 percent, and 19 percent disapproved from 30 percent previously.

Compared with the December survey, Pulse Asia said the only improvement in the approval scores of the national administration was the seven-percentage point increase in the level of appreciation for its environmental protection efforts, from 41 percent to 48 percent.

Besides the 11-percentage points increase on the percentage of those undecided on the issue of controlling inflation, Pulse Asia also noted that indecision in efforts to reduce poverty became more pronounced in March, from 31 percent to 43 percent.

Results of the survey also showed that Filipinos are least likely inclined to approve of how the administration is handling inflation (26 percent) and poverty (30 percent) while they are least likely to be ambivalent on the matter of approving or disapproving the initiatives to fight criminality (28 percent) and fighting corruption (30 percent).

Significant events when the survey was conducted include the continuing investigation of the alleged pork  barrel scam; the arrest of Delfin Lee, president of Globe Asiatique; the power crisis in Mindanao; the impending increase in Meralco’s electricity rates; conclusion of the peace negotiations between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front; the government’s decision to allow the United States more access to military bases as part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, and the arrest of two key leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army, among others.

The survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide.  It had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points and a 95-percent confidence level. Ana Roa, Inquirer Research