SWS: Pinoys upbeat about Rody

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he delivers his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) before the joint session of the 17th Congress Monday, July 25, 2016, at suburban Quezon city northeast of Manila, Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

WILL PRESIDENT Duterte live up to expectations?

Filipinos are optimistic he would, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted from June 24 to 27, or very shortly before Mr. Duterte formally assumed office on June 30.

People expect a lot from the new President, with six in 10 respondents believing he would “fulfill most, if not all, of his promises.”

The SWS asked 1,200 respondents nationwide: “In your opinion, how many of the promises of President Rody Duterte can be fulfilled?”

To this, 22 percent said “all or nearly all;” 41 percent said “most;” 32 percent said “a few; ” 1 percent said “almost none or none,” while 3 percent said “don’t know” or refused to answer.

By comparison, in June 2010, when asked how many of his campaign promises then President Benigno S. Aquino III would fulfill, 14 percent said “all;” 19 percent said “almost all;” 53 percent said “a few;” 4 percent said “almost none;” 5 percent said “none,” while 4 percent had no answer.

The noncommissioned SWS survey, first published in BusinessWorld, had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points for national percentages and plus or minus 6 points for area percentages.

By geographical area, Mindanao, where Mr. Duterte is from, was the most upbeat with 75 percent (26 percent saying “all or almost all” promises would be fulfilled and 49 percent saying “most”), followed by 66 percent in Metro Manila (24 percent “all or almost all” and 42 percent “most”), 60 percent in Balance Luzon (22 percent “all or almost all,” 38 percent “most”), and 54 percent in the Visayas (18 percent “all or almost all,” 36 percent “most”). Ana Roa, Inquirer Research