“Vicious noise” failed to dampen public sentiment vs Duterte – Abella

April 18, 2017

Malacanang welcomed on Tuesday President Rodrigo Duterte's approval rating despite a decline as shown by Pulse Asia's latest survey. "The vicious noise from the President’s fiercest critics failed to dampen public sentiment on the latest presidential rating," said Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella in a statement. According to Pulse Asia's Ulat ng Bayan national survey, Duterte's approval rating in March was at 78 percent, five percentage points lower from his December rating. But Duterte obtained the highest approval rating among the top five highest ranking officials in government. Vice President Leni Robredo, whose rating also fell by four percentage points, received 58 percent approval rating. Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III's approval rating was steady at 55 percent. House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez's rating declined by three percentage points to 40 percent in March, while Supreme Court Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno got 42 percent during the period, five percentage points lower than the 47 percent December last year. "Considering that Pulse Asia March conducted its survey during the filing of an impeachment complaint against PRRD (Duterte), the Senate appearance of a self-confessed hitman, the media releases of human rights reports highly critical of the Duterte administration’s campaign against illegal drugs, and the internationally-aired video message of VP Robredo, the President has remained the highest approved, at 78 percent, and most trusted, at 76 percent, top national government official in the Philippines," Abella said. With the survey results, he said a great majority of Filipinos "appreciate the President's priority of protecting the nation's patrimony - the next generation - from dangerous drug traffickers and violators; to restore a trustworthy government free from corruption; to keep our streets safe from crime; our society just and fair; and our many peoples get along." Abella expressed gratitude for the trust by the people to the government. "We thank our people for trusting that the Duterte administration is on the right track to building a nation worthy of all Filipinos," he said. Celerina Monte/DMS