Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque has once again downplayed the drop in President Duterte's satisfaction rating, saying it's still high when compared with that of his predecessors.
"Ibang klase po talaga itong si Presidente Duterte. Bagama't may pagbaba, ito pa rin ay mataas kung ikukompara sa nagdaang mga pangulo (President Duterte is truly of a different kind. Even if his number dropped, it's still high when compared to past presidents)," Roque said in a virtual press conference Tuesday, Nov. 2.
Referring to the results of the Social Weather Stations' (SWS) third quarter 2021 national survey, Roque noted that Duterte garnered a lower net satisfaction rating of +52 percent.
"Normal po na bumaba ang rating ng isang nakaupong pangulo sa huling taon niya sa pwesto (It's normal for the rating of an incumbent president to drop in the final year of his or her term)," he said.
"Siya pa rin ang may pinakamataas na satisfaction rating sa lahat ng pangulo siyam na buwan bago matapos ang kanyang termino (He is still the one with the highest satisfaction rating among all past presidents in the final nine months of their terms)," Roque said of Duterte.
Citing data from SWS, he said that the late former President Benigno S. Aquino III had a net satisfaction rating of +41 percent in Nov. 2015; former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, -38 percent in Sept. 2009; former President Fidel Ramos, +35 percent in Sept. 1997; and late former President Corazon Aquino, +10 percent in Nov. 1991.
Former President Joseph Estrada, Ramos's successor, didn't have an applicable figure because he didn't finish his Palace term.
The SWS third quarter survey was held in the entire country from Sept. 12 to 16, 2021. Duterte's +52 rating is categorized as "very good" by SWS, despite it being 10 percentage points less than Duterte's +62 score in its previous June 2021 survey.
In Nov. 2020, President Duterte's net satisfaction rating peaked at an impressive +79 percent.
This means that since then, Duterte’s net satisfaction has plunged by a significant 27 percentage points.
Roque gave a similar defense of the Chief Executive's sliding numbers in late September.