Rise in Duterte’s latest ratings, by oligarchs, not by the poor – Pamalakaya

Rise in Duterte’s latest ratings, by oligarchs, not by the poor – Pamalakaya

Manila, Philippines – As Malacaňang brags about the latest trust ratings for President Rodrigo Duterte by the Pulse Asia Research Inc., the militant Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA-Pilipinas) was quick to raise that it was by oligarchs and not by the poor sectors in the country. Duterte earned a performance rating of 87 and a trust rating of 83, both 9 points up from September’s.

“With all the economic crises hounding the poor sectors this year, it is very unlikely that majority of the people would approve Duterte of positive responses,” PAMALAKAYA National Chairperson and former Anakpawis Party-list Representative Fernando “Ka Pando” Hicap said in a press statement.

The said survey as posted on the website of Pulse Asia, did not reveal the total number of respondents nor their background. The only information that was published were their major island geographical location such as the National Capital Region (NCR), Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, and their “Class,” such as “ABC,” “D,” and “E.”

“The very questionable part of the survey is does the respondents represent the characteristics of the population, based on the share to their own definition of classes. We could only presume that Class ABC includes the oligarchs, big landlords and corrupt bureaucrats, while Class E includes the peasants, workers, fisherfolk, indigenous people and other poorest sectors in the country,” he said.

Based on the survey, Duterte’s performance ratings by Class ABC posted the highest at 89 which was a 14-point jump from September’s 75, Class D at 88 from 10, Class E’s was nailed at 84. While on the trust ratings, Class ABC increased by 1 point to 72, Class by 12 to 73, and Class E was still the same at 80.

“Even on the survey, it is clearly shown that the class where the oligarchs belong are ecstatic, while the poorest remain stagnant,” he said.

Finally, he raised the question on whether the respondents included some of the more than 2 million rice farmers affected by the Rice Liberalization Law, fisherfolk affected by reclamation projects, fish bans and depressed farm gate prices of galunggong brought about by the order to import, and continued Chinese occupation in the West Philippine Sea, the intensified human rights abuses in Negros, Samar, Bicol and Mindanao, the minimum-wage and contractual workers, urban poor whose communities are being demolished, and the Ayta indigenous people who are being displaced by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for the expansion of the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, the very site of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

“If those sectors affected by Duterte’s programs and policies were covered by the survey, he would be lucky if he had a non-negative response,” Hicap, who was the poorest congressman in the 16th congress, ended. ###

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