Coalition rates Duterte ‘lower than expected’

President Rodrigo Duterte scored 4.63, or “lower than expected,” in the rating scale of the Movement for Good Governance (MGG), which evaluated his first-year performance based on the metrics that he himself had set out to do when he was running for office.

MGG is a coalition of individuals and organizations chaired by former Economic Planning Secretary Solita Monsod. It advocates transparency, accountability, integrity and honesty in government.

The rating is based on a scale of 0 to 10, depending on how well the administration has achieved targets on areas like the economy, public finance and governance.

Mr. Duterte got a lower score than the similarly lackluster 4.69 rating of his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, based on MGG’s assessment of the latter’s first year in office.

His administration got a rating of 4.6-5.6 in managing the economy; 4.75 in public finance, 5.5 in agriculture and 3.75 in governance.

A score of 5 was given for gross domestic product growth, as the growth rate for the first three-quarters of the administration averaged 6.7 percent with a declining trend. Attaining inclusive growth got a low 2.5.

The performance in labor generation was rated at 2.5.

On the fiscal agenda, MGG gave a sluggish rating of 4.5.

The tax reform program was given a score of 6 as the MGG noted a “regressive” distribution of the overall tax burden.

The President was given 10 for fulfilling his promise of interring the remains of former President Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani and his promise to pardon former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“He is on track on his promise to promote family planning and improve wages of the military. But he fell short in suppressing crime by 2016 since the number of murder cases rose,” MGG said.