Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Across regions, classes and genders, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has bounced back in popularity as shown by his "very good" net satisfaction rating of plus 67, 25 points more than his "good" plus 42 rating last quarter, a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) indicated.
"The President's satisfaction rating registered a double-digit improvement across the board except for Mindanao, (where his rating) is already high at plus 61," said Leo Laroza, Survey Research and Communication Specialist at SWS. This could be attributed to "improving trends" on hunger and self-rated poverty based on SWS surveys in previous quarters, he added.
The recent survey, conducted between August 24 and 27, asked 1,200 respondents nationwide "how satisfied or dissatisfied" they were with "the performance" of Aquino as President of the Philippines.
The SWS asked further: "Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, undecided if satisfied or dissatisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, very dissatisfied?"
Results of the survey showed that 77 per cent of the respondents said they were satisfied with Aquino's performance, up from 63 per cent in May. Those who said they were dissatisfied dipped from 21 per cent to 10 per cent this quarter, survey results showed.
Biggest gain in Metro
SWS considers net satisfaction ratings of plus 70 and above as "excellent"; plus 50 to plus 69, "very good"; plus 30 to plus 49, "good"; plus 10 to plus 29, "moderate"; plus 9 to minus 9, "neutral"; minus 10 to minus 29, "poor"; minus 30 to minus 49, "bad"; minus 50 to minus 69, "very bad"; and minus 70 and below, "execrable".
The latest survey used face-to-face interviews and had an error margin of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points.
By location, Aquino posted his biggest gain in Metro Manila, from the previous quarter's "good" net satisfaction rating of plus 18 (48 per cent satisfied, 30 per cent dissatisfied), to a "very good" net satisfaction rating of plus 59 (73 per cent satisfied, 14 per cent dissatisfied).
The President also posted improved ratings in the Balance of Luzon (from plus 41 to plus 70), and in the Visayas (from plus 41 to plus 76). He maintained his "very good" rating of plus 61 in Mindanao.
In rural areas, Aquino similarly showed improved ratings of plus 70 in August (79 per cent satisfied, 10 per cent dissatisfied, correctly rounded), from a rating of plus 51 in May (69 per cent satisfied, 17 per cent dissatisfied). His net satisfaction rating almost doubled in urban areas, from plus 35 in May (59 per cent satisfied, 24 per cent dissatisfied) to plus 65 in August (75 per cent satisfied, 10 per cent dissatisfied).
The President also obtained "very good" scores across all socioeconomic classes. Among the more affluent ABC class, Aquino's net satisfaction rating rose by 53 points from plus 25 (54 per cent satisfied, 29 per cent dissatisfied) to plus 78 (84 per cent satisfied, 6 per cent dissatisfied).
Among respondents from class D, his net satisfaction rating rose by 27 points, from plus 41 (63 per cent satisfied, 22 per cent dissatisfied) to plus 68 (77 per cent satisfied, 10 per cent dissatisfied, correctly rounded). It rose by 12 points among those from Class E, from plus 50 (67 per cent satisfied, 16 per cent dissatisfied, correctly rounded), to plus 62 (74 per cent satisfied, 12 per cent dissatisfied).
Among male respondents, Aquino's net rating rose from plus 43 (64 per cent satisfied, 21 per cent dissatisfied) to plus 67 (77 per cent satisfied, 9 per cent dissatisfied). He similarly gained plus points among the women, from plus 41 (62 per cent satisfied, 21 per cent dissatisfied) to plus 67 (78 per cent satisfied, 10 per cent dissatisfied, correctly rounded).
Hunger incidence dips
SWS figures showed that hunger incidence dipped from 23.8 per cent or 4.8 million households, in March, to 18.4 per cent or an estimated 3.8 million households, in May. The proportion of families who rated themselves as "poor" also dipped from 55 percent or 11.1 million households, in March, to 51 per cent or 10.3 million households in May.
