High expectations for PBBM during first 100 DAYS–PUBLICUS survey

WITH 68 percent of Filipinos saying they expect him to perform “very well” in his first 100 days in office, incoming President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. faces high expectations.

Poised to formally assume the presidency today, Thursday, President-elect Marcos Jr. faces high expectations to perform well during his first 100 days in office, according to the latest PUBLICUS survey.

In the 2022 PAHAYAG Second Quarter Survey (2022 PQ2), conducted between June 16 and 22, 2022 by PUBLICUS Asia Inc., respondents were asked to respond to the following query: “Using the rating scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is VERY POORLY, 3 is NEITHER POORLY

NOR WELL, and 5 is VERY WELL, select the option that would best describe how you expect [Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos Jr.] to perform during the first 100 days of the incoming administration.”

Sixty-eight percent of survey respondents indicated they expect Marcos Jr. to perform “well” or “very well” during his first 100 days as President. Fourteen percent said they expect him to perform “poorly” or “very poorly.” Eleven percent said they expect the incoming President to perform “neither poorly nor well,” while 7 percent were unsure.

“Our survey suggests that roughly two out of three Filipinos expect President Bongbong Marcos to perform well during the first 100 days of his presidency,” said Atty. Aureli Sinsuat, Executive Director of PUBLICUS,

adding that “President Marcos Jr. will have to hit the ground running from Day One to live up to these high expectations.”

Survey respondents to 2022 PQ2 were also asked to select and rank the three most important issues that the next President should focus on with 73 percent of respondents choosing the Philippine economy as one of their top 3 issues, with 42 percent ranking the economy as the number one issue for the next President to address, while 53 percent of respondents selected jobs as a top 3 issue, while 32 percent chose education.

This, as “economic development, job creation, and education reform are not issues that can be completely addressed over the course of 100 days. However, public perception on the Marcos Jr. administration could be expected to remain relatively positive if these top-of-mind issues are prioritized by the incoming President and his team during their first few months in office,” Sinsuat said.

Moreover, Sinsuat noted that the continuation of five landmark of Duterte administration programs earned majority support among survey respondents. Seventy-nine percent of respondents said they approve of the continuation of Build, Build, Build program, the highest approval rating registered among the 14 issues tested on the survey. Seventy-three percent said they support the continuation of the “war on illegal drugs,” while 68 percent support the continuation of “independent foreign policy.”

At the same time, 64 percent of respondents said they support the continuation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao transition. Continuation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTFELCAC) earned an approval rating of 56 percent.

“Considering President Duterte’s enduring popularity, it is not surprising that a significant majority of respondents support the continuation of his flagship programs. While the level of policy continuity between the outgoing and incoming administrations remains to be seen, it is reasonable to believe that public opinion on the Marcos Jr. administration will be influenced, at least in part, by its ability to continue and improve upon at least some of the Duterte administration’s more popular flagship programs,” Sinsuat said.