The approval ratings of the country’s two top officials dropped noticeably in the third quarter of the year, the latest Pulse Asia survey showed.
From a high of 80 percent in June, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s approval rating dropped by 15 percentage points to 65 percent in September.
Vice President Sara Duterte’s rating fell from 84 percent to 73 percent in the same period.
“Although the President and the Vice-President continue to enjoy majority approval scores at the national level and across geographic areas and socio-economic classes, both experienced significant erosion in their respective approval ratings during the period June 2023 to September 2023,” Pulse Asia said in its report.
Mr. Marcos’ biggest score loss came from Class E, the country’s poorest sector, where he lost 29 percentage points.
On the other hand, Duterte’s rating received a huge hit from Class ABC, Pulse Asia said.
Pulse Asia said the drop in their respective scores might be traced to the continued rise in the prices of basic commodities such as food and fuel.
The administration is facing key issues, including the rising tension in the West Philippine Sea, the rice crisis, inflation, and the controversy over its use of confidential funds.
The approval ratings of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and Supreme Court Justice Alexander Gesmundo also slid down.
Zubiri tallied a score of 50 percent, six percentage points lower than his June approval mark of 56%, while Romualdez’s 52 percent approval rating decreased to 41 percent for a decline of 11 percentage points.
Gesmundo received a 34 percent approval rating, 10 percentage points lower than his June score of 44 percent.
The survey was conducted from Sept. 10-14, 2023 with a margin of error of 2.8 percent.
Earlier, the Pahayag 2023 third quarter survey showed that more Filipinos are dissatisfied with the administration, but not enough are leaning toward the political opposition.
The lobbying and campaigns firm PUBLiCUS Asia Inc., which ran the survey, said the poll reveals “a decline in the proportion of pro-administration sentiment, while anti-administration sentiments have shown an increase.”
While these were “notable changes in the political landscape of the Philippines,” these shifts “do not appear to have an observable impact on the leanings towards the opposition,” it added.
The survey showed that the proportion of respondents who expressed their pro-administration sentiments declined to 43 percent in the third quarter from 48 percent in the second quarter.
Anti-administration sentiments, meanwhile, grew from 18 percent in the first quarter of 2023 to 23 percent in the third quarter.