Opposition coalition tells Duterte: ‘The honeymoon is over’

President Rodrigo Duterte (Photo by JOAN BONDOC / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

#TindigPilipinas, an opposition coalition, on Sunday said the two-digit decline in President Rodrigo Duterte’s net satisfaction rating only showed that “the honeymoon is over.”

“We at #TindigPilipinas call on the President to heed the people’s call to stop extrajudicial killings, rethink the war on drugs, and desist from weakening our democratic institutions,” the group said in a statement, reacting to the 18-point drop in President Duterte’s latest net satisfaction rating.

According to the third quarter Social Weather Station (SWS) survey conducted from Sept. 23 to 27, 67 percent of adult Filipinos were satisfied with Duterte’s performance, while 14 percent were undecided, and 19 percent were dissatisfied.

Compared to June’s +66 or “very good” rating, the recent survey showed a net satisfaction rating of +48, classified by SWS as “good.”

#TindigPilipinas also reiterated its call for Duterte to sign a bank waiver to prove that he did not have any unexplained wealth.

Earlier, the Office of the Ombudsman said it had received the bank transaction history records of the Duterte family from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) as part of an investigation that stemmed from a complaint filed by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV last year against Duterte, then still a mayor running for president.

“The significant drop in the President’s numbers is expected because while his government was focused on killing the poor and balkanizing our democratic institutions, his administration has miserably failed to deliver on his promises – peace in Mindanao, housing solutions to traffic, end to ENDO (contractualization), employment, among others,” the group said.

Following is the #TindigPilipinas statement in full:

If the huge decline of the President’s ratings is any indication of anything, it is this: Honeymoon is over.

We at #TindigPilipinas call on the President to heed the people’s call to stop extrajudicial killings, rethink the war on drugs, and desist from weakening our democratic institutions.

The significant drop in the President’s numbers is expected because while his government was focused on killing the poor and balkanizing our democratic institutions, his administration has miserably failed to deliver on his promises – peace in Mindanao, housing, solutions to traffic, end to endo [contractualization], employment, among others.

Finally, the huge drop in the President’s rating must serve notice to him: The people must expect nothing but the truth on the allegations of corruption, ill-gotten wealth, and drug smuggling facilitation leveled against him and members of his family.

Mr. President, we reiterate our call: sign the bank waiver.

/atm