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Amid President Duterte’s record performance and confidence ratings in the latest Pulse Asia poll, a political analyst said the president’s popularity could soon hinge on the country’s economic recovery after the pandemic and the eventual launch of the coveted COVID-19 vaccine, hopefully next year.
Yet even with these factors, Duterte can expect to continue to enjoy his good numbers, even if they don’t necessarily translate into votes for him and his allies in 2022, said Bob Herrera-Lim, managing director of international political risk consultancy Teneo. . .
“The next crucial benchmark for the president will be in the middle of next year, because by that time, many of the world’s countries, especially the developed world, will have vaccines,” Lim said in an online forum hosted by foreign correspondents. . Philippine Association on Thursday.
“If we don’t have the vaccine and our economy continues to struggle below our regional peers, that’s where the comparisons will start to leak, like, why aren’t we where these other countries are, our peers?” added.
New survey
The Pulse Asia survey released earlier this week, which is the first nationwide survey amid the COVID-19 pandemic, showed Duterte’s performance rating rose to 91 percent. The numbers frustrated expectations that the president’s numbers will plummet due to the government’s handling of the pandemic, where cases have soared to more than 330,000 even amid the world’s longest lockdown.
The poll, conducted Sept. 14-20, found that 92 percent of 1,200 adults surveyed approve of the president’s response to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, while 84 percent approve of actions taken by his administration to control the spread of the virus.
Mindanao respondents gave the president the highest approval rating at 98 percent. Visayas followed with 92 percent, Luzon outside Metro Manila with 91 percent, and Metro Manila with 87 percent.
However, Pulse Asia President Ronald Holmes noted that despite the record number, it was not a significant change from last year’s Duterte ratings.
Despite criticism from local and international human rights groups and members of the opposition for his dismal rights record, Duterte continues to enjoy his popularity, at least according to polls by private polling companies.
But it’s also important to take into consideration the element of fear in the favorable poll results for Duterte, said political analyst Richard Heydarian.
“The vast majority of these people who joined these polls are from working class communities. These are the same communities where we have seen many extrajudicial executions, ”he said.
“The climate of fear cannot be taken as a potential factor to explain the extraordinarily high numbers for President Duterte as well,” Heydarian added.
Beyond his current high ratings today, what needs to be investigated further is the “Dutertist” phenomenon, Heydarian said, where Duterte’s influence and his style of leadership and governance may persist into the years even after his presidency. . —With a report from Inquirer Research
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