MANILA — The Duterte administration obtained an 83 percent approval score for its effort to fight criminality, a September 2018 Pulse Asia survey showed.
In its survey conducted Sept. 1-7, Pulse Asia also said only 3 percent disapprove of the administration’s efforts to keep the streets safe and secure, while 14 percent were undecided.
The survey also showed that Filipinos appreciate the administration’s initiative in protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers, scoring 75 percent; in responding to the needs of areas affected by calamities, 74 percent; and in fighting corruption, 71 percent.
It also gave the administration approval scores for its effort to enforce the rule of law (69 percent), promote peace (69 percent), protect the environment (65 percent), defend national territorial integrity (56 percent), create more jobs (56 percent), and increase the pay of workers (53 percent).
Appreciation is the plurality sentiment toward the Duterte administration’s anti-poverty initiatives (39 percent), the survey showed.
“Nagagalak po ang ating Presidente na kinilala ng ating taongbayan yung mga ginagawa ng ating Presidente, lalong-lalo na po dito sa isyu ng patuloy na giyera laban sa kriminalidad (Our President is happy that the people appreciate our efforts, especially in our continuous war against criminality),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Palace briefing on Thursday.
On Sept. 20, the Second Quarter 2018 Social Weather Stations survey showed that property crime or crime that includes street robbery, burglary, break-in, car theft, and others fell to 5.1 percent in June 2018 compared to 6.1 percent in March 2018.
“Bumababa po ang numero ng krimen at ang taongbayan mismo ang nagsasabi nito (The crime rate is lower and the people themselves are saying so),” Roque earlier said.
However, the survey also showed that 63 percent of Filipinos say inflation is an issue that the Duterte administration must immediately address.
Half or 50 percent of Filipinos consider the need to increase the pay of workers as an urgent national concern.
“Gaya po ng sinasabi po naming, kinikilala po namin na problema ang pagtaas sa presyo pero ang aming assurance po, hindi po natutulog sa pansitan ang ating Presidente, ang gobyerno (As I have said, we acknowledge the problem concerning high prices of goods but our assurance is that the President, the government is not sleeping on the job),” Roque said.
On Tuesday, Roque announced that Duterte and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea signed four issuances to resolve inflation:
– Administrative Order No. 13 removing non-tariff barriers and streamlining administrative procedures on the importation of basic agricultural commodities;
– Memorandum Order (MO) No. 26 directing the departments of trade and agriculture to adopt measures to reduce the gap between farm-gate and retail prices of agricultural products;
– MO No. 27 directing the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to come up with measures that would ensure efficient and seamless delivery of imported agriculture and fishery products from the ports to the markets; and
– MO No. 28 directing the NFA to immediately release existing rice stocks in its warehouses, including the 230,000 metric tons (MT) of rice currently stored in its warehouses across the country and 100,000 MT of rice previously contracted to be delivered before the end of the month.
Roque, meanwhile, expressed confidence that these measures will pull down the impact of food prices on inflation.
“Kampante po kami na sisipa po ang epekto nitong mga hakbang na ginawa natin at makikita natin, bumaba na po substantially ang presyo ng bilihin sa palangke ngayon (We are confident that the effect of the measures being taken will be felt soon and we will see that the prices of goods in the market will go down),” Roque said. (Azer Parrocha/PNA)
