SECRETARY ANDANAR: PRO-POOR PROGRAMS AND POLICIES CONTRIBUTED TO HIGH SATISFACTION RATINGS OF PRESIDENT DUTERTE

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar attributed President Rodrigo Duterte’s high satisfaction ratings to his policies grounded on ensuring the welfare of the poor.

Secretary Andanar referred to landmark policies that have contributed to the vision of the administration in providing a comfortable life for every Filipino. These included the passage of the Universal Healthcare Law, the provision of free tertiary education in public universities and colleges, assistance to former rebels, and the massive infrastructure projects, among others.

“Ipinaliwanag ng lahat ng ito kung bakit hanggang ngayon napakataas pa rin ng satisfaction rating ni Presidente. Nasa 75% pa rin ang satisfaction rating niya [These policies show why until now the President enjoys satisfaction rating of 75%],” he said in an interview.

“Para sa isang pa-exit na Pangulo napakataas ng 75% [For a President who is about to exit his term, 75% is very high],” he added. He also cited some of the policies which promoted inclusive growth for the country.

The Social Weather Stations on Thursday

presented three batches of survey results starting from November 2020 to June 2021.

The SWS survey result in November 2020 showed that 84 percent of respondents claimed that they were “very/ somewhat satisfied” with the President’s performance, while 75% satisfaction ratings were reported for President Duterte for the months of May and June this year.

Secretary Andanar mentioned that the improvements done in government media and strengthened partnership with the private media have helped in disseminating the initiative of the government.

He also stressed the need to report the accomplishments of the Duterte Administration in order for more Filipinos to be informed of the programs and services that they can avail of from government offices. “Ang trabaho namin is based on public trust. Dapat magreport tayo because pera ito ng taumbayan [Our work is based on public trust and it is only right for us to report this because we are using the people’s money],” he said.

“Kung ang mga negosyante nga nagbibigay ng report sa kanilang stakeholders, how much more ang gobyerno na ang stakeholders natin ay ang bawat Pilipino [If businesses are required to provide a report to their stakeholders, then so should the government because every Filipino is our stakeholder],” he added.

The PCOO chief said that he respects the opinion of the critics who are tagging the PCOO’s Duterte Legacy campaign as a purveyor of fake news. With that said, he encouraged them to do their own research on those Filipino families who are benefitting from the programs of the “Present na present po yang mga programang ginagawa ng pamahalaan. Magtanong kayo sa mga nakinabang kagaya dun sa mga estudyanteng nakinabang sa libreng edukasyon sa kolehiyo [The programs of the government are present. You can just ask those who benefitted from it like the students who are enjoying the free tertiary education],” he said.

“Makakatanggap ka talaga ng mga kritisismo dahil yan naman ay parte ng ating demokrasya at nirerespeto po natin ang kanilang mga pananaw sa buhay, the same way, they should respect beliefs, values, and our political leanings [We expect to receive criticisms because that’s part of our democracy and we respect the views of our critics, the same way, they should respect (our) beliefs, values, and political leanings],” he added.