Blame ratings fall on erratic policies, Duterte told

No, Mr. President, it’s not just the end of the honeymoon.

An opposition leader at the House of Representatives said on Tuesday that the sharp decline in President Rodrigo Duterte’s net satisfaction rating could not be simply explained as the natural end of the honeymoon stage of a presidency.

Instead, the 18-point drop in Mr. Duterte’s net satisfaction rating showed that Filipinos were growing frustrated over the President’s “persistent erratic policies, flawed pronouncements and cardinal failures,” according to Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman.

“The double-digit erosion of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s popularity and trust ratings is not a matter of seasonal decline or the end of a honeymoon,” Lagman told reporters.

The Sept. 23-27 Social Weather Stations survey of 1,500 adult respondents nationwide showed Mr. Duterte’s net public satisfaction (percent satisfied minus percent dissatisfied) had plunged 18 percentage points from 66 in June to 48. His net trust rating declined 15 points to 60 from 75 over the same period. These were his lowest ratings since taking office 15 months ago.

Chief presidential legal adviser Salvador Panelo said the President was “unperturbed” and would continue his war on drugs. Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the drop was just a “hiccup” in the presidency, and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the decline was expected because the “honeymoon period of the President is usually for a year.”

Lagman said the President’s popularity and trust ratings plummeted due to unabated killings of suspected drug users and dealers; Mr. Duterte’s predisposition to authoritarian rule; his vindictiveness and reprisal against critics; the persistent spread of lies and twisting of the truth; and his unredeemed promises like alleviating poverty, solving the drug problem and traffic mess and forging peace with the Left and Muslim separatists.

Lagman said the Duterte administration must positively respond to these “serious indictments” instead of ignoring them.

“The more the administration makes excuses, the more these ratings would fall,” Lagman said.

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Mr. Duterte “should not be unduly worried” after enjoying a “whole year of stratospheric ratings.”

“The job of a President is not to make popular decisions,” the Pampanga representative said. “A drop (in the ratings) though does not mean erosion of public support but merely a sentiment on particular policies.”

She said Mr. Duterte had taken “historic initiatives” that would leave his “real legacy”—tax reform, infrastructure, Charter change and the rebuilding of Marawi City.

Arroyo said the “same kind of vicious opposition now working to bring down President Duterte” were responsible for her even lower ratings, which averaged -7 over her nine years in office, the worst among the Presidents who came after the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. —WITH A REPORT FROM VINCE F. NONATO