Former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV claimed on Tuesday, July 20, that based on Magdalo Group’s own survey in Luzon, President Duterte’s approval ratings were going “down” in run-up to the May 2022 polls.
The former senator has repeatedly referred to his group’s surveys when criticizing surveys that show Duterte’s high approval and trust rating, as well as that he and his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, are the preferred candidates for president and vice president.
“Big news! The Magdalo survey results for July are in. For the 5th straight time, Duterte’s approval ratings are down,” Trillanes said on his official Facebook page.
“Marami na talagang namumulat. Lumalaki rin ang chance ng opposition na manalo sa 2022 (Many are waking up. The opposition’s chances to win in 2022 are getting bigger),” he added.
Trillanes also posted a screenshot of the graph charting the survey results done from July 2020 to July 2021. The latest survey results are done from July 13 to 14 in the “Luzon Belt.”
The post did not say how many respondents participated in the survey cited.
According to the graph, Duterte’s numbers have fallen since July last year. Around the same date last year, 45.2 percent of the respondents said that they “gustong-gusto/gusto (like very much/like)” the President while 49.1 percent said “tama lang (just right).” Only 5.6 percent said “ayaw/ayaw na ayaw (dislike/dislike very much).”
READ: Trillanes: 'Duterte curse' will end in 2022
But the latest survey from July 13 to July 14, only 26.5 percent said they “like” Duterte, 59.7 percent said he’s “just right,” and 13.9 percent said they “dislike” him.
The “dislike” percentage rose from 5.6 percentage in July last year to 6.3 percentage in September 2020 and down again to 6.1 percentage in November 2020. But since February 2021, that rose to 9.9 percent to 12.1 percent in May 2021 and finally, to 13.9 percent this month.
The “like” percentage, on the other hand, has been dropping. From the whopping 45.2 percent “like” in July 2020, it went down to 44.8 percent in September 2020 to 42.3 percent in November 2020.
The biggest drop happened in February 2021 with only 35.5 percent of the respondents saying that they “like” the President. In May 2021, that went down further to 31.6 percent before the 26.5 percent in July 2021.
Malacañang has always boasted about Duterte’s trust and approval numbers. In October 2020, his approval rating rose to 91 percent.
READ: Duterte’s high approval ratings will make a candidate formidable — Roque
But his opponents maintained these surveys are being used to condition the minds of the public, and that the government’s “poor” COVID-19 response will not win another election for the administration’s bets.
Trillanes is at the forefront of these criticisms, often belying the results of the surveys that said Duterte and his daughter have the most chance to win the 2022 polls.