More than half of Filipino respondents in an international survey disapproved of the current response of the government against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on the latest State of Southeast Asia 2021 Survey, 53.7 percent of Filipino respondents “disapproved” the government’s response, with 17.9 percent expressing strong disapproval.
The Philippines also ranked lowest among Southeast Asian countries in terms of approval rating, with 6 percent who “strongly approved”, 19.4 percent “approved” and 20.9 percent “neutral”.
The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) welcomed the survey result, saying that its policies and actions “have always been guided by science in ensuring appropriate and efficient actions” for the public and nation.
“The government’s response is only as good as the institutions who implement it, and the people who comply with it–every Filipino, every family, and every community has the ability and responsibility to contribute towards national healing,” it added.
A total of 59.7 percent of respondents are from academia, think-tanks, or research institutions, 19.4 percent are affiliated with the government, 13.4 percent are from regional and international organizations.
There are also respondents from the business sector, media, civil societies, and non-government organizations.
The OCTA Research previously conducted a similar separate survey where 80 percent of respondents expressed favor on the response of the government.
“I just want to note that sometimes surveys could have differing demographics. We had 600 respondents in NCR, and from those 600 respondents, the average was 80 percent approved the government’s response,” Prof. Guido David said. – Report from Mark Fetalco
