Drop in Duterte’s approval, trust ratings in September no cause for concern —Palace

Malacañang on Monday said it was not worried about the drop in the approval and trust ratings of President Rodrigo Duterte in the third quarter of this year.

Duterte’s approval rating dropped from 85% in June to 78% in September while his trust rating settled at 74%, down by 11 percentage points from the 85% in the previous quarter, according to independent pollster Pulse Asia.

“The rating is still high; it’s more than 70%. Surveys fluctuate depending on when they get them. If it is taken at a time when there are controversies hounding, it may affect the survey results,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said at a news conference.

Asked if the Palace was concerned about the ratings drop, Panelo said: “No.”

Pulse Asia said the survey was conducted on September 16 to 22 amid issues such as the good conduct time allowance (GCTA) mess, polio outbreak, deadly hazing incident in the Philippine Military Academy and African swine fever outbreak.

The poll involved 1,200 adult Filipinos and had a ± 2.8% error margin at the 95% confidence level. —KG, GMA News