Duterte not a ‘magician’, says JV on PH woes

President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he delivers his speech during his investiture as Chief Scout of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines in Malacanang on April 3, 2017. INQUIRER PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC

President Rodrigo Duterte is no “magician” to immediately solve the major problems of the country, Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito said on Thursday.

Ejercito was still reacting to the latest Pulse Asia survey, showing a slight decline in Duterte’s performance and trust ratings in March.

READ: Duterte trust, performance ratings fall slightly

“I believe it is just normal that over time, the trust and performance ratings of presidents go down,” the senator said in a statement.

“In President Rodrigo Duterte’s case, his ratings in the early months of his administration were so high that it will be next to impossible to sustain such popularity rating, given also that he has upset groups of people in his crusade to effect change,” he said.

Ejercito, a member of the majority bloc in the Senate, surmised that many Filipinos were still “uncomfortable” with the leadership style of Duterte, whom he descibed as a “political maverick.”

“People’s expectations are high after the election, but Duterte is no magician. We cannot expect the President to solve the major problems in so short a time,” he said.

“The positive thing in this March Pulse Asia survey is that 8 out of 10 Filipinos still trust the President in spite of the slight slip, and that is still relatively good,” the senator added.

From 83 percent in December last year, Duterte’s trust rating slipped to 76 percent in March while his performance rating slid by five percentage ponits, from 83 percent last December to 78 in March. CBB