President Duterte has achieved his highest ever public satisfaction rating, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.
The president garnered a net satisfaction rating of +67, categorised as “very good,” based on the survey conducted from June 23 to 26 — a month after he declared martial law in response to the Marawi crisis.
This is his highest SWS net satisfaction rating so far, surpassing his September rating of +64.
The survey, first published in BusinessWorld, was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults nationwide. It has sampling error margins of +/-3 points for national percentages and +/-6 for regional percentages.
It found that 78 per cent of respondents were satisfied by Duterte’s performance in the second quarter of the year.
Only 12 per cent were dissatisfied while 10 per cent said they were undecided.
Increased public satisfaction in Visayas and Luzon shored up the president’s ratings, which dropped sharply in Mindanao — his home region that is now under martial law.
In Visayas, the president’s satisfaction rating was up by 11 points to +73 while in Luzon, public satisfaction rose by 7 points to +58.
In Mindanao, however, his satisfaction rating dropped by 12 points — from +87 to +75 — which nonetheless is still safely in the “excellent” category.
Satisfaction in Duterte’s performance improved across all levels of society, with the highest rise recorded among the country’s poorest.
Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the results showed public support for martial law and how the Marawi crisis has been handled.
“The finding shows tacit public support for the president’s action following the rebellion in Marawi,” he said.
However, opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV described the drop in ratings in Mindanao as “alarming.”
“Those from Luzon and Visayas most likely appreciated the AFP’s effective response to the Maute group, hence the increase in satisfaction rating. On the other hand, the 12 per cent dip in Mindanao shows a totally different and alarming picture,” he said.
The president declared martial law on May 23, just hours after Islamist militants went on the rampage in Marawi under the black flag of Islamic State.
The death toll of the crisis has surpassed 400 and nearly 400,000 people have been displaced.