The results of the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations are hardly surprising. They show President Benigno Aquino III’s approval ratings are at their lowest following the Mamasapano tragedy.
The survey, conducted from March 20 to March 23 this year, said Aquino obtained a net satisfaction rating of +11 (moderate), a steep decline from the +39 (good) he obtained just this December.
It was an even sharper drop from the +47 registered during the same period last year. The drop took place in all geographic areas and across all socio-economic classes.
The SWS figures corroborate a similar finding by Pulse Asia released in March, which also showed the President’s approval numbers taking a beating in the first quarter this year.
The perennially optimistic, “glass-half-full” spokesman of the Palace, however, makes a distinction between the findings of the two poll firms. Secretary Herminio Coloma says that the SWS survey, which was taken after the results of Pulse Asia were released in March, was higher, showing that the people have been made to understand the President’s position on the matter.
The presidential adviser on the peace process was more combative. Secretary Teresita Deles told a group of evangelical Christians on Monday that Mr. Aquino’s critics were spreading lies and misinformation to discredit the peace process and drag down the President’s popularity.
Deles heads the agency that is talking with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to establish a Bangsamoro entity in Mindanao. Curiously, it was in MILF “territory” where a Malaysian terrorist had been hiding for years. Members of the elite Special Action Force killed the Malaysian but 44 of them were killed by fighters from the MILF and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters as they were retreating. No support from the Philippine military came to rescue them.
Deles is wrong. The critics may be doing what they are known for doing, but it is Mr. Aquino who has done a much better job of pulling down his numbers.
He must be beside himself to see his popularity figures slipping. This was a man, after all, who stumbled into the presidency by popular mandate—sympathy vote, some say—soon after the death of his mother. Mr. Aquino rode the popular clamor for transparency and good governance, capitalizing on the people’s hunger for genuine change.
Outwardly he grumbled that the presidency took such a big toll on his personal life. We know now, however, that Mr. Aquino relished the ego boost that his popularity brought, fancying himself infallible and feeding the Filipinos the lie that one is simply either good or bad, with him or against him. And for a time, the people believed him – until he began to unravel.
Nowhere is his state of mind more apparent than when he defends himself and his friends, passing on the blame to others outside of his circle while continuing to extoll the supposed virtues of “Daang Matuwid.”
These succeeding months until June 2016, President Aquino will have more reminders that his opinion of himself is scandalously out of touch with the people’s—even the opinion of those who voted for and believed in him five years ago.
One may ask: What business does a genuine leader have, anyway, bothering with popularity ratings, finding excuses for lower approval numbers and blasting critics for not applauding his every move? Then again, we only have a president here—not a genuine leader.