Marcos admin gets majority approval rating on 11 of 13 key issues —Pulse Asia

The administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. received majority approval ratings on 11 of 13 key national issues affecting the Filipinos, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey.

The survey, however, showed low approval of the administration's work in controlling inflation and poverty reduction.

According to the survey, "appreciation was majority sentiment" towards the administration’s work in the areas of responding to the needs of calamity-hit areas (78%), controlling the spread of COVID-19 (78%), promoting peace in the country (69%) and protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (68%).

Majority approval was also registered in the areas of fighting criminality (67%), enforcing the rule of law (62%), creating more jobs (59%), increasing workers’ pay (59%), fighting graft and corruption in government (58%), protecting the environment (57%), and defending the country’s territorial integrity (52%), the survey firm said.

"However, when it comes to controlling inflation, the only majority urgent national concern, the plurality opinion among Filipino adults (42%) is one of disapproval for the national administration’s performance. And on the issue of poverty reduction, the latter records essentially the same approval and indecision figures (39% versus 35%)," Pulse Asia added.

A recent survey also showed that the majority of Filipinos or 66%, consider the need to control inflation as the national issue that requires the immediate attention of the incumbent administration.

It revealed that increasing the pay of workers ranked second among the urgent concerns that need government action at 44%, followed by creating more jobs at 35% and reducing poverty at 34%.

The survey was conducted from September 17 to 21, 2022 using face-to-face interviews, based on a sample of 1,200 representative adults 18 years old and above.

It has a ± 2.8% error margin at the 95% confidence level.  Subnational estimates for the geographic areas covered in the survey have the following error margins at 95% confidence level:  ± 5.7% for Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, Pulse Asia said.

Among the key developments reported in the news immediately prior to the survey period and conduct of interviews were the signing of Executive Order No.3 lifting the wearing of mandatory face mask in outdoor settings; the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law; the President’s state visits to Malaysia and Singapore; and the continued depreciation of the peso against the dollar.—LDF, GMA News