Abella: ‘Love is still there’ for Duterte

The love of the Filipinos for President Rodrigo Duterte has remained despite the decline in the net satisfaction and trust ratings of the chief executive, a Palace spokesman said on Monday.

According to Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella, the drop in Mr. Duterte’s net satisfaction ratings was expected since the “honeymoon period” for the administration has now ended.

“The change in the President’s satisfaction rating, from 78 percent in June to 67 percent in September, and trust rating, from 82 percent in June to 73 percent in September, is expected given the fact that people start measuring their expectations usually after the honeymoon period, or after a year in office,” Abella said during a briefing in Malacañang.

In spite of this, however, Abella believed that public satisfaction remains “good” and public trust remains “very good.”

The noncommissioned survey was conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) from September 23 to 27, days after the nationwide rally held on September 21 in protest to street killings and alleged human rights violations under the administration’s bloody war against illegal drugs.

“It is worth noting that surveys are snapshots of the public mood at a given time and the SWS survey was conducted between September 23–27, just 2 days after the National Day of Protest — the bold initiative (of President Duterte) allowing citizens to freely vent their grievances about the excesses and shortcomings of the government — and some sentiments may have spilled over,” Abella said.

Nevertheless, “the love is still there,” Abella added. The Palace official assured the public that the government would “continue to work harder to address the public’s urgent needs in order to bring a comfortable life for all.”

“We enjoin everyone to set aside self-interest and together build a nation worthy of the next generation,” Abella said.