Aquino admin satisfaction rating will continue to drop – analyst

President Benigno S. Aquino III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – A political analyst on Thursday said the administration of President Benigno Aquino is expected to receive falling net satisfaction ratings over the next years.

Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform (IPER), said public satisfaction would usually decline during the last years of a president’s term.

“Well tingin ko nagsimula na ‘yung usual downtrend papunta sa dulo ng kanyang termino,” he told Radyo Inquirer 990AM.

(I think the downtrend towards the end of his term has started.)

Casiple said it added to the fact that the administraion is facing crucial issues such as the response to typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) and the pork barrel scam.

The latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey , released on Wednesday, showed the national administration’s net satisfaction rating going down from a “very good” +51 in December last year to a “good” +45 last March.

SWS categorizes ratings as follows: +70 and above, “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”; -70 and below, “execrable.”

Data from SWS showed that the adminsitration’s satisfaction rating has been on a downward trend for the last several months.

Among the issues that contributed to the decline were: foreign relations, defending territorial rights, fighting terrorism, fighting inflation, resolving the Maguindanao massace and ensuring that oil firms don’t take advantage of oil prices.

Issues faced by the administration that showed improvement were helping the poor, reconciling with Muslim rebels, reconciling with Communist rebels, fighting crime, eradicating graft and corruption and addressing hunger.

At the time of the survey, which was conducted March 27 to 30, 2014 among 1,200 respondents, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Libertion Front.

Casiple also pointed out that the Aquino administration net satisfaction rating was higher than those of the past governments’.

“Bagamat may duda ako na hindi na yan makakabawi sa dating napakataas na rating,” he said.

(Although I am doubtful that he will be able to recover his previously higher ratings.)

He said adding to Aquino’s woes was the Supreme Court’s recent declaration that parts of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) were unconstitutional.

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