Philippines: Duterte Loosing Popularity Ratings

President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval and reputation ratings dropped in the third quarter which has caused the price of some everyday items such as rice, bread and fuel to double, according to a Pulse Asia survey released Tuesday.
Duterte’s attacks on his most vocal critics also received their first pushback from the courts this week, after a judge rejected the petition for the arrest of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, one of the president’s fiercest opponents. The move was described as a “huge political slap” to the president.
The latest poll revealed that the president obtained a 75-percent approval rating and a 72-percent trust score, a significant decrease from his 88 percent and 87 perent approval and trust ratings in the previous quarter.
“At the national level, President Duterte experience a decline in his approval ratings (-13 percentage points) and a rise in indecision (+5 percentage points) during the period June to September 2018,” Pulse Asia said.
One of the fastest-growing economies in south-east Asia is Philippines which stands at almost 7% in inflation, a nine-year record for the country and the highest in the region.
“Duterte has had dents in his popularity in the past, but in the past few months this has been the most sustained decline in his popularity,” said Maria Ela L Atienza, the editor of the Philippine Political Science Journal.
> Shiuly Rina