Activists doubt surveys on Duterte’s high satisfaction, trust ratings
Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas (left) and Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez (right) present their group’s “report card” on President Rodrigo Duterte during a press conference in the CHR office in Quezon City on Friday, July 19, 2019. For the human rights advocates, Duterte “failed” in addressing juvenile justice and education issues. Gabriel Pabico Lalu/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Human rights advocates do not buy the results of the latest public satisfaction and trust ratings survey on President Rodrigo Duterte, doubting the procedure used by pollsters to reflect the true sentiment of the public.
Gabriela party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas on Friday said survey takers might have missed fielding the right questions to come up with a result that rightly describes the public’s opinion of Duterte and his governance.
In the latest Pulse Asia survey released Wednesday, Duterte got the highest satisfaction and trust ratings among the top officials in government with 85 percent each.
Similarly, the recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that 80 percent of Filipinos approve of Duterte’s performance, with only 12 percent dissatisfied.
Pulse Asia and SWS separately stated that they conducted face-to-face interviews with 1,200 respondents, asking them to rate the officials’ performance of their duties and to gauge their trust in the personalities for the last three months.
READ: Pulse: Duterte remains most trusted government official
READ: Duterte’s rating reaches new record-high in Q2 2019 – SWS
An earlier SWS survey, however, indicated that Filipinos do not trust China.
READ: Filipinos have ‘poor’ trust for China, ‘excellent’ for US – SWS survey
“Ano ‘yong tinanong ‘don sa survey? ‘Yong popularity kasi it matters kung paano tinanong, kung mag-uusap tayo tungkol sa West Philippine Sea, ilang porsyento ang magsasabi na sa atin ‘yon? Palagay ko 90 percent ‘di ba?,” Brosas said in a press conference at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) office in Quezon City.
“‘Yon ay hindi sang-ayon sa mga pahayag ng Pangulo (tungkol) sa West Philippine Sea. So it matters kung ano ‘yong mga tanong. Ipatanong natin ‘yong extrajudicial killings para malaman natin kung ano ang pulso ng mga mamamayan dito?” she added.
Frances Bondoc, officer-in-charge of the Children’s Rehabilitation Center, also asserted that these results cannot be relied on as the administration allegedly engages in sharing misleading information.
“Sikat na sikat ‘tong administrasyon na to sa pagpapakalat ng fake news, at hindi na tayo magtataka kung kahit ‘yong mga ganyang survey ay kaya nilang manipulahin,” Bondoc claimed.
“Kitang-kita rin naman natin kung gaano ka-tindi ‘yong pagkalam ng sikmura ng mga Pilipino, kung gaano ka-galit ‘yong mga tao ‘pag walang lumalabas na tubig sa kanilang gripo, at higit sa lahat ‘yong walang makuhang sahod,” she added.
Brosas even questioned the timing of the survey results’ release.
“Saka itong Pangulo na ito […] parang umaasa sa survey, popularity, makikita mo na ‘uy may pattern’. Bakit kaya laging nagpapa-ganyan (survey) kapag ganitong mga panahon?” she asked.
Earlier, Brosas, Bondoc, and other children’s rights advocates gave Duterte a failing grade in terms of addressing children’s concerns like education and juvenile justice.
The government was particularly chided for failing to achieve justice for children killed in its brutal war against drugs.
Duterte is set to deliver his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) at the Batasang Pambansa on Monday, July 22. But before Duterte gives his Sona, a United People’s Sona will take place first as among the activities readied by militant groups and administration critics in their demonstration along Commonwealth Avenue, some blocks away from the Batasang Pambansa.
READ: Children rights advocates give Duterte failing grades ahead of Sona
READ: People’s Sona to tackle things Duterte failed to do
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