Palace unfazed by Rody’s lower trust ratings

AMMAN – Malacañang was unfazed by President Duterte’s lower trust ratings in June and assured the public that the administration remains committed to its responsibilities.

Duterte’s net trust rating fell to a “very good” +57 in June from +65 in March, according to a second quarter Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

Seven out of 10 or 70 percent of the respondents of the poll had much trust in the President, 18 percent were undecided and 13 percent had little trust in him.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said Malacañang was humbled by the results of the poll.

“The Palace views the latest survey results with humility. However, we have to take note that regardless of ratings, the President remains focused on his job of governing the nation,” Roque said in a statement released yesterday.

Roque admitted that much remains to be done, especially in assisting the poor, vulnerable and severely hungry families.

“We are now working double time to aid families affected by high prices while keeping the economy stable,” he said.

Despite the President’s lower net trust rating, Roque thanked the Filipinos “for their continuing vote of confidence for (Duterte) during this challenging time.”

The SWS survey was conducted from June 27 to 30 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide.

The culprit

Rising prices of goods and services, as evidenced by the 6.4-percent inflation last month, are bringing down Duterte’s trust rating, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate said yesterday.

Zarate said the President should dismiss Secretaries Carlos Dominguez of Finance, Benjamin Diokno of Budget and Management and Ernesto Pernia of Economic Development “for initiating and insisting on Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) and other anti-poor, anti-Filipino economic policies.”

He also warned that the public would continue to lose trust in Duterte as prices of fuel, rice, fish, water, electricity, vegetables and other products rise.

“(Duterte) is ultimately responsible for further making the poor majority of Filipinos poorer by listening to his erring economic managers. A reversal of failed economic policies and direction is in order,” he added.

Zarate urged the President to heed the growing clamor for the scrapping of the administration’s TRAIN program and for the repeal of the TRAIN 1 law, which imposed new and higher taxes on oil products, sugar-sweetened beverages and tobacco.

Meanwhile, Duterte has blamed the high tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed on Chinese products entering the US for the inflation in August reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the highest in nearly 10 years.

For his part, Diokno has put the blame on the National Food Authority’s failure to bring in sufficient imported rice.

The Department of Health (DOH) is enjoying higher approval rating based on the June 2018 Ulat ng Bayan report of Pulse Asia, which surveyed the performance of selected government agencies.

But the Department of Education and the Department of Social Welfare and Development are statistically tied for first place.

Ulat ng Bayan showed that the DOH received an approval rating of 78 percent, the second-highest approval rating among departments.

The DOH also received a significant upswing of +15 percentage points in public approval ratings in the National Capital Region from 52 percent in March to 67 percent in June this year.

According to Pulse Asia, the DOH’s national approval rating is higher than its rating in the previous quarter. The June approval rating is comparable with previous ratings enjoyed by the DOH in 2016.

“We are inspired to do more and to deliver better for our countrymen because of the increasing public confidence in DOH programs,” Duque added.