Aquino pulling Mar Roxas up in ratings

As President Benigno Aquino III receives a high public satisfaction rating, so does administration coalition standard-bearer Mar Roxas in voters’ preference surveys.

For Malacañang, it is safe to conclude that this indicates the people’s recognition and belief in the Aquino administration’s straight path (“daang matuwid”) policy, its gains and the need for its “continuity.”

“The SWS and Pulse Asia preference surveys for the third quarter were the first to be held after President Aquino endorsed him (Roxas) as (Liberal Party) LP standard-bearer. The significant improvement in Secretary Roxas’ ratings follow the same upward trend in the President’s satisfaction ratings which are higher than what his predecessors attained in the late stage of the term,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said in a text message to reporters on Friday.

“It is reasonable to infer that our bosses believe in the President’s advocacy for continuity of ‘daang matuwid’ and the strengthening of good governance beyond the end of his term,” Coloma said.

A Sept. 2-5 survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) found that 64 percent of 1,200 respondents nationwide were satisfied with President Aquino’s performance as Chief Executive.

Big leap

Soon after, the SWS and Pulse Asia surveys on whom people prefer to succeed Mr. Aquino showed Roxas making a big leap from his sorry numbers months ago.

While neophyte Sen. Grace Poe still dominates the two surveys, Roxas was now statistically tied with Vice President Jejomar Binay.

“Secretary Roxas posted the most significant increase of eight points [in the Pulse Asia survey] which indicates increasing support for him as the standard bearer of ‘daang matuwid.’ This improvement was achieved within a month after President Aquino endorsed his candidacy,” Coloma said.

For his part, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, an LP stalwart, told the Inquirer in a text message that the “trend line (of the surveys) clearly shows a momentum and upward trajectory.”

Abad said the three “key elements” that brought this about were: “first, the palpable benefits from ‘daang matuwid’ are now being recognized by our people; second, the anointment of Roxas by President Aquino as his reliable and capable successor has clearly been well-received by our people, and, finally, our constituents are getting to know the real Mar Roxas—the trustworthy, experienced and compassionate public servant that he is.”

“The challenge for Roxas is being able to reach out to as many more people as possible in the warm and personable manner that has so far characterized his engagements,” Abad said.