MANILA — The high approval and trust rating that President Rodrigo Duterte earned in the latest survey results not only showed that the chief executive has built on the mandate given to him 2016, but also indicated “strong citizen support” for his governance agenda, the spokesman of the Party-list Coalition Foundation, Inc. (PCFI) said Tuesday.
In a statement, Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. said the results clearly showed that Duterte has gained the support of not just the 16.6 million Filipinos who voted for him three years ago.
The spokesman of the 54-strong party-list bloc in the House of Representatives said this was proven with the successful runs of the new senators, as well as of reelected congressmen and new solons who were allied with the President.
“As the 18th Congress prepares to buckle down to work starting next week, the survey results also indicate strong citizen support for his overall governance agenda,” he said.
“In other words, the Filipino people trust President Duterte despite what the critics in the 3 percent to 4 percent minority who disapprove say,” Garbin said.
The latest Pulse Asia survey results released earlier in the day showed that President Duterte continues to enjoy majority trust and approval ratings, and remains the most trusted and approved top government official in the land.
In the nationwide survey last June 24-30, 85 percent of Filipinos said they approve of the performance of President Duterte, with only 3 percent expressing disapproval, and 11 percent were undecided.
In the same survey, the President’s trust rating remained unchanged between March 2019 and June 2019 at 85 percent.
Only 4 percent expressed distrust in the President, while 11 percent were undecided in June.
Garbin said the PCFI will continue to push for the respective advocacies of its members, even as the coalition continues to push for the legislative agenda of the President.
“We will prioritize bills that did not become laws due to lack of material time but which made it as far as third and final reading in the House and were sent to the Senate,” he said.
He also said the PCFI will be looking forward to the legislative contributions of the 34 neophyte lawmakers in their ranks.
“We will value their inputs on legislative measures filed at the House. They can even make refiled bills better with new inputs and perspectives,” the Bicolano lawmaker said.
“With total party-list votes cast last May 13 hitting 27.78 million, it is a substantial mandate for us to advance their welfare and our advocacies which are attuned to the plight of our constituents,” Garbin said.
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