Aquino ratings dip; Palace is unfazed

PRESIDENT Aquino’s full-year net satisfaction rating for 2015 was a record low for him, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

The nationwide poll conducted from Dec. 5 to 8 found 58 percent of 1,200 respondents satisfied with the President, while 26 percent were dissatisfied and 16 percent undecided, resulting in a net satisfaction rating (satisfied minus dissatisfied) of “good” +32.

Mr. Aquino’s full-year net satisfaction average of “moderate” +29 in 2015 was the lowest, when compared with the previous averages recorded in 2010 (“very good” +62), 2011 and 2012 (“very good” +53), 2013 (“very good” +55) and 2014 (“good” +36).

The President’s latest score was 9 points down from the +41 rating (64 percent satisfied and 22 percent dissatisfied, correctly rounded) he obtained in September, which SWS also rated as “good.”

The noncommissioned survey, the results of which were first published in the Business World newspaper, had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points.

Malacañang has chosen to look at the lower satisfaction ratings of the President as a glass half full, noting that despite a nine-point decline compared to three months ago, the 58 percent approval rating he received remains “among the highest in history.”

“The latest results released by the Social Weather Stations from their fourth quarter survey show that public satisfaction with President Aquino remains among the highest in history, with 58 percent satisfied, 16 percent undecided and 26 percent dissatisfied with the President’s performance,” said presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda in a statement.

Lacierda said the administration measured success “by other metrics that reflect the quality of life of our citizens.”

He said the administration was working “not for survey results but toward the more tangible benefits of good governance—poverty alleviation, job increase and economic expansion.” Inquirer Research and Nikko Dizon