Malacañang on Monday thanked the Filipino people for giving their trust to President Rodrigo Duterte who received high approval and trust scores in the latest Pulse Asia survey amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte’s score of 91 percent on both approval and trust showed the public deplores politicking and that the President was doing the right thing to help Filipinos amid the global health crisis.
Duterte’s scores in the Sept.14-20 survey of Pulse Asia were up from his pre-pandemic approval rating of 87 percent and his approval rating of 91 percent in December 2019.
Duterte scored the highest approval rating among the five highest government officials.
The survey, conducted Sept. 14-20, showed Duterte with a 91 percent approval rating and a 5 percent disapproval rating.
Referencing a slight 1 percent drop in the rating of Vice President Leni Robredo, a vocal critic of the administration, Roque said the President’s ratings showed that the public rejects polticking while the nation deals with the impact of the pandemic.
Robredo’s approval ratings went down by a hairline at 57 percent in the latest survey from 58 percent in the previous one. A vocal critic of the Duterte's administration's efforts to address the pandemic, she has a 22 percent disapproval rating and 21 percent undecided rating.
The survey was conducted following the President’s decision to extend the state of calamity in the country until September 2021 and the signing of the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, which provides a COVID-19 relief package worth P165.5 billion.
“Stop politicking during the coronavirus pandemic. Let us unite,” Roque said, addressing Robredo.
Robredo earlier criticized the government’s handling of the health crisis, saying in Filipino that there appears to be no leader “at the helm, no direction, no clear horizon as to when and how this pandemic will be addressed.”
She added that if the Duterte government continues to fail the people, Filipinos will have to find solutions themselves.
Robredo’s camp on Monday maintained that she has been performing amid the pandemic on a low budget.
Her spokesman Barry Gutierrez said Robredo continued to work for the people despite a minuscule budget, criticism thrown her way and the spread of fake news on Facebook against her. With Rio N. Araja and Macon Ramos-Araneta
Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who had the second highest approval rating at 84 percent—unchanged from the previous survey—committed to work hard during uncertain times.
“Thank you! It's nice to know that our people acknowledge my effort as the leader of the Senate,” Sotto said. – With Rio N. Araja and Macon Ramos-Araneta