President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, together with former President and incumbent Pampanga 2nd District Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, attends Manila City Mayor Joseph Estrada鈥檚 80th birthday celebration at the Manila Hotel on April 19, 2017. TOTO LOZANO/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO (FILE)
Commiserating with President Rodrigo Duterte, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has this to say after the double-digit drop in his ratings: 鈥淭he job of a president is not to make popular decisions.鈥�
Recalling her own experience, Arroyo said in a聽statement issued on Monday:聽鈥淚聽had to endure this process myself when I made tough and unpopular decisions that ultimately redounded to the common good.鈥�
Arroyo, who became聽the representative of Pampanga 2nd district after stepping down from the presidency in 2010,聽said the rise and drop in ratings is just 鈥減art of the territory.鈥�
鈥淚t reflects the pulse of the people at a particular time. A drop though does not mean erosion of public support but merely a sentiment on particular policies,鈥� Arroyo said.
Since Duterte enjoyed 鈥渁 whole year of stratospheric ratings,鈥� Arroyo said he 鈥渟hould not be unduly worried鈥� by this 鈥渂lip鈥� that she noted to have occurred 鈥渁t the height of the controversy over so-called EJK鈥檚 in the war against drugs.鈥�
Remembering her even lower net satisfaction ratings, Arroyo took a swipe at the 鈥渟ame kind of vicious opposition now working to bring down President Duterte.鈥�
But, she said she 鈥渞esponded by focusing instead on performance, performance, performance.鈥�
鈥淚t was my intention to leave a real legacy of achievement, because it was only the judgment of history that mattered to me,鈥� Arroyo noted.
For now, she said Duterte has taken on 鈥渟everal historic initiatives that too will comprise his real legacy鈥� and 鈥渃an produce major changes early enough to improve his ratings by early next year.鈥�
These include the comprehensive tax reform package,聽infrastructure buildout, Charter change, and securing and rebuilding Marawi City, Arroyo said.
Contrary to Duterte鈥檚, Mrs. Arroyo鈥檚 net satisfaction ratings by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) were the lowest among the post-Marcos presidents.
Net satisfaction ratings are the difference between those satisfied and those who are not.
Arroyo peaked at +24 points in March 2001, which dipped to +16 a year later. But, beginning March 2005 until the end of her presidency in June 2010, those dissatisfied with her have outnumbered the satisfied respondents, so she ended up averaging -7 points for her nine-year tenure.
The range of Duterte鈥檚 net satisfaction ratings for his first year, +64 in September 2016 to +48 in September 2017,聽was more similar to that of Presidents Corazon Aquino鈥檚 +53 in May 1986 to +69 in March 1987, Fidel Ramos鈥檚 +66 in September 1992 to +62 in September 1993, Joseph Estrada鈥檚 +60 in September 1998 to +28 in October 1999, and Benigno Aquino III鈥檚 +60 in September 2010 to +56 in September 2011.
Duterte actually enjoyed ratings above 60 points for the first four quarters of his term. But, his net satisfaction rating suddenly dropped by 18 points from +66 in June to +48 this September, after his flagship anti-drug campaign was rocked by the successive police killings of teenage drug suspects, as well as an investigation into the smuggling of P6.4 billion shabu from China.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 /kga