Helen Flores
Philippine Star

The Arroyo administration’s net satisfaction rating fell to a record low of –21 in the past three months, the lowest for any administration since the ouster of the Marcos regime, Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey results showed.

The Second Quarter 2008 Social Weather Survey, conducted from June 27 to 30, found 28 percent of adult Filipinos satisfied and 49 percent dissatisfied with the overall performance of the administration, or a net satisfaction rating of –21.

The rating is the lowest for any administration surveyed by the SWS since February 1989.

The administration’s ratings concerning issues like helping the poor and fighting corruption have slightly improved however, SWS said.

The latest net satisfaction rating for the administration is two points lower than the –19 in the First Quarter 2008 survey, SWS said.

SWS said the net satisfaction rating of the Arroyo administration has been declining for three consecutive quarters since September 2007, when it was a neutral +9.

SWS said past administrations also had negative ratings at certain times. In November 1990, the Aquino administration received its lowest net satisfaction rating of –10. In October 1995, the Ramos administration obtained its worst low of net –18. Estrada’s lowest net satisfaction rating was net –8 in December 1999.

SWS said dissatisfaction with the present administration hit record-low in the Visayas at –26 in June from –8 in March.

In Mindanao, it fell by six percentage points from –17 to –23.

In Metro Manila, however, the administration’s net satisfaction rating rose by five points from –32 to –27.

It rose by four points in balance Luzon from –20 in March to –16 in June.

The June 2008 survey also found dissatisfaction with the administration worsening among the poor class E and the middle-to-upper classes ABCs.

The net satisfaction rating among the class E fell from –19 in the previous quarter to –25.

It also fell by six points among the class ABCs, from –18 to –24.

Net satisfaction with the administration remained at –19 among the class D or the masses, from 29 percent satisfied and 48 percent dissatisfied in March, to 28 percent satisfied and 47 percent dissatisfied in June.

The survey showed “moderate” net rating for the administration on helping the poor, with 50 percent satisfied and 35 percent dissatisfied, or a net +15. On foreign relations, the administration got a net +13.

The administration also received mediocre ratings on the issues of reconciliation with Muslim rebels at +10 (41 percent satisfied, 31 percent dissatisfied); fighting terrorism, at +10 (43 percent satisfied, 33 percent dissatisfied); distributing lands to deserving tillers, +8 (42 percent satisfied, 34 percent dissatisfied); making medicines affordable, +4 (42 percent satisfied, 38 percent dissatisfied); and fighting crimes, +4 (40 percent satisfied, 36 percent dissatisfied).

On fighting inflation, the administration obtained poor rating at –16 while on ensuring that no family will be hungry, the administration received a net rating of –18.

On eradicating graft and corruption, the administration received a net rating of –22.

“The ratings of the performance of the National Administration on the 10 specific issues tested in the June 2008 survey were better compared to the previous quarter,” SWS said.

Net satisfaction with the administration turned from neutral to positive for four issues: Ratings on helping the poor rose by eight points from +7 to +15; fighting terrorism from +5 to +10; foreign relations, by nine points, from +4 to +13, and reconciliation with Muslim rebels, by seven points, from +3 to +10.

Net satisfaction rating switched from “slightly negative” to “slightly positive” for three issues: distributing lands to deserving tillers under the land reform, from -4 to +8; ensuring that medicines are affordable, from -9 to +4; and fighting crimes, from -10 to +4.

The SWS survey used face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults divided into random samples of 300 each in Metro Manila, the balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The survey has sampling error margins of plus or minus three percent for national percentages and plus or minus six percent for area percentages.