Among the top five officials of the country, President Benigno Aquino III suffered the biggest drop in approval ratings, the latest Pulse Asia survey showed.
Aquino’s approval rating fell by 21 percentage points, from 59 percent in November 2014 to only 38 percent in March 2015. His trust rating, on the other hand fell by 20 percentage points, from 56 percent in November to only 36 percent this month.
“Amidst the various challenges being faced by his administration at the present time, appreciation for and trust in the President ease during the period November 2014 to March 2015 not only at the national level (-21 and -20 percentage points, respectively) but in all geographic areas (-18 to -27 percentage points, respectively) and in Classes ABC and D as well (-24 and -23 percentage points, respectively),” a Pulse Asia release said.
READ: Pulse Asia: Aquino trust, approval ratings at their lowest after Mamasapano incident
According to the poll, which was conducted from March 1 to 7 among 1,200 respondents, the approval ratings of Vice President Jejomar Binay (now 46 percent from 45 percent last quarter) and Senate President Franklin Drilon (now 49 percent from 47 percent) increased by one percentage point and two percentage points, respectively.
The survey was held more than a month after the botched Mamasapano operation, which resulted in the deaths of 44 policemen, 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters and five civilians.
On the other hand, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. suffered a seven-point drop in approval ratings (from 34 percent in November last year to 27 percent this month). Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s approval rating also fell (from 37 percent in November last year to 29 percent this month).
Aquino also received the highest increase in disapproval ratings (from 11 percent in November 2014 to 23 percent this month). Binay’s disapproval ratings remained at 23 percent while that of Drilon (down by one percentage point to 12 percent in March), Belmonte (up by one percentage point to 16 percent) and Sereno (up by five percentage point to 19 percent) showed minimal changes.
Among social classes, Aquino suffered a 24-point loss on his approval ratings in Class ABCD (from 59 percent in November last year to 35 percent this month) and a 10-point decrease in Class E (from 57 percent to 47 percent.)
The President suffered double-digit losses in his approval ratings across all geographic areas: 27 points in the Visayas (from November’s 68 percent to March’s 41 percent), 23 points in the National Capital Region (from 49 percent to 26 percent), 22 points in Mindanao (from 67 percent to 45 percent), and 18 points in Luzon (from 54 percent to 36 percent).
Other notable movements recorded in the survey include: Binay incurred a 13-point increase in his disapproval (from 24 to 37 percent) and distrust (from 25 percent to 38 percent) ratings in the National Capital Region; Drilon lost 17 points on his approval ratings in Class ABC; and double-digit declines on Belmonte’s approval (from 44 percent in November to 30 percent) and trust (41 percent to 28 percent) ratings in the National Capital Region.
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