PBBM’s high satisfaction rating lauded

The high approval ratings of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s administration only prove that he is on the "right track of governance", House Speaker Martin Romualdez said on Friday.

On the Pulse Asia survey released on Thursday, the Marcos administration received "majority approval ratings" on its handling of urgent national concerns.

"The good showing means that President Bongbong Marcos is on the right track of governance," said Romualdez, first cousin of the President.

"The President started on the right foot by convincing the best, and the brightest and most capable among Filipinos to serve the people, to join his economic team and his Cabinet," he added.

In the survey, the Marcos administration received a 78 percent rating for responding to the needs of calamity-hit areas and controlling the spread of Covid-19.

For Romualdez, it only shows that Filipinos were happy with the administration's response to recent destructive typhoons, particularly super typhoon "Karding."

The House chief lauded the government's decision to continue reopening the economy, with Covid-19 safety measures in place, saying that it has resulted in more mobility, more economic activities, more jobs, and supposed increased income for the people.

The Pulse Asia survey also showed that the Marcos administration received high marks in the areas of promoting peace (69), protecting the welfare of overseas Filipinos (68), fighting criminality (67), enforcing the law on all (62), creating more jobs (59), increasing workers' pay (59), fight graft and corruption (58), protecting the environment (57), and defending the country's territorial integrity (52).

However, it only got 39 percent in reducing poverty among Filipinos, and 31 percent in controlling inflation.

Romualdez pointed out that the uptick in inflation could be traced largely to external factors.

This includes, he said, the strength of the US dollar vis-a-vis the Philippine peso, the increase of the price of crude oil in the world market, and disruptions in the supply chain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

"Singly, each of these events already puts pressure on inflation. Their confluence makes matters worse for all consumers throughout the world," he said.

He assured that the government is taking measures to mitigate the impact of these external factors on domestic prices.

"Let us be patient. With the cooperation of everyone, we will get there. President Bongbong has said he would not let even a single Filipino added to the ranks of the poor," he said.

The face-to-face survey was conducted from 17 to 21 September and was based on a sample of 1,200 adults 18 years old and above.

It has a ± 2.8 percent margin of error.