Analyst: Inflation may have caused Duterte’s drop in satisfaction rating

Political analyst Ramon Casiple. INQUIRER file photo

The drop in President Rodrigo Duterte’s net satisfaction rating in the second quarter might have been caused by high inflation rate in the country, a political analyst said on Wednesday.

Duterte’s net satisfaction rating sustained an 11-percentage point decline from 56 percent in March to 45 percent in June, according to the latest survey of Social Weather Stations (SWS).

READ: Duterte’s net satisfaction rating drops by 11 points in Q2 — SWS

Ramon Casiple, Executive Director of the Institute of Political and Electoral Reform, noted that the decrease mostly came from a number of residents from urban areas, whom he said were significantly affected by high prices of goods.

“Ang Metro Manila malaki ang bagsak, ang Class D malaki ang bagsak, ang Urban in general malaki ang bagsak at yung mga nakatapos ng high school,” Casiple told Radyo Inquirer.

(Metro Manila recorded a large decrease, Class D recorded a large decrease, the Urban area in general recorded a large decrease, as well as those who were only able to finish high school.)

According to Casiple, the survey’s respondents under these groups are usually minimum wage earners, who are mostly affected by rising prices in goods.

READ: Inflation hits 5.2%, exceeds gov’t target

According to SWS, Duterte’s satisfaction rating from residents of urban areas decreased from 70 to 61 percent or “very good” to “good.” His rating, however, from those in rural areas remain “very good” at 69 percent.

“Ang urban kasi generally eh ayan ang apektado ng inflation. Lahat ng bagay dito binibili mo eh [The urban area in general is affected by inflation. It’s because you buy everything here],” Casiple said.

He also noted that the President’s net satisfaction rate may rise again if he manages to resolve the issue.

“Kung ma-solve niya yung inflation, malamang tataas ulit yan. Hindi yan permanente [If he can solve inflation, his satisfaction rate might increase again. It’s not permanent],” he concluded. /jpv