Manila: The popularity of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has continued to rise in the second quarter of this year, a private pollster said, adding the respondents’ “glowing” response is an acceptance of his declaration of martial law to stop Daesh-inspired local terror groups from spreading attacks in the southern Philippines and nearby places in Southeast Asia’s Indonesia and Malaysia.
In a survey done on 1,200 respondents nationwide from June 24 to 29, Duterte’s approval rating soared to 82 per cent from 78 per cent in March, Pulse Asia said.
In the same survey, Duterte’s trust rating in June was 81 per cent, higher than his 76 per cent in March, Pulse Asia said.
In reaction, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said, “It’s a pleasant news.”
“He will not claim it [accolade] for himself. He will give due credit to his Cabinet and to the participation of all agencies [to implement projects and other plans of the government],” said Abella, adding, “It’s not just him although he stands, he’s out front [on issues and projects]. But he will credit it also to the participation of the rest of the Cabinet and the different agencies [to implement his plans for the people].”
“The result of the survey is a sign that Filipinos want a strongman-rule,” said Grace Buenaventura, a dental assistant in suburban Quezon City. “This is evident with his consistent popularity rating since he won the May 2016 presidential race.”
Various groups have criticised Duterte when he declared on May 23 a martial law rule in the whole of Mindanao after four Filipino-Muslim terror groups attacked Marawi City on the same day.
Local and international rights groups have criticised Duterte for the death of almost 10,000 in his campaign against illegal drug trade since July 2016. The Philippine National Police (PNP) claimed responsibility for a third of the fatalities and blamed drug syndicates for the rest of the incidents.
The nationwide survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews with respondents 18 years old and above, said Pulse Asia.
The non-commissioned survey has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points at the 95 per cent confidence level, the pollster explained.
