Pulse Asia: Arroyo’s ratings unchanged

PRESIDENT Arroyo’s issuance of Proclamation 1017 appears to have no significant impact on her overall performance and trust ratings at the national level as these remain practically unchanged from last October’s levels, according to Pulse Asia.

The survey of 1,200 respondents from Feb. 18 to March 4 showed 26 percent of Filipinos saying they approve of her performance and half saying they disapprove of it. Meanwhile, 22 percent say they trust her while half said they don’t.

However, Pulse Asia detected a significant drop in Arroyo’s approval (-17 points) and trust (-15 points) ratings, as well as the increase in her disapproval (+17 points) and distrust (+19 points) ratings in the Visayas before and after Proclamation 1017. However, those from this region still grant Arroyo her highest approval and trust ratings.

Pulse Asia said Arroyo’s most recent ratings are a significant improvement over her July 2005 ratings, but these have not reverted to their level before questions on the legitimacy of her presidency arose. “These have remained at critically low levels, still lower than that of any other Philippine president in the polling history of the country,” it said.

Other highlights of the survey:

• Seven in 10 Filipinos say their personal circumstances worsened over the past year while 83 percent feel that the national quality of life is worse now than it was a year ago. Majority expect their personal situation to worsen in the next 12 months, and 70 percent expect the national situation to deteriorate further.
• Fifty-nine percent do not believe that the Philippines is a hopeless case. However, 30 percent continue to express a desire to migrate to another country.
• About half of Filipinos cite avoiding illnesses and staying healthy as their most urgent personal concern while 51 percent think controlling inflation should be on top of the national administration’s agenda.

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