This marked the first decline in approval scores for Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. - Reuters
MANILA: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has suffered a “significant” drop in his approval rating as soaring consumer prices in the Philippines undermines his support, a polling organisation said on Monday.
The Pulse Asia survey, conducted from Sept 10 to 14, found 65 per cent of 1,200 respondents approved of Mr Marcos’ performance, down 15 points from 80 per cent in a June poll.
This marked the first decline in approval for the son of the late Philippine strongman, Ferdinand Marcos.
Marcos secured a landslide victory in a presidential election in 2022 in the first win by a majority since a 1986 “People Power” uprising that brought an end to his father’s two-decade rule.
The older Marcos died in 1989 in Hawaii.
“Continuing increase in prices of basic commodities and services and unfulfilled promise of reducing these” likely caused the “significant” drop in the approval rating, said Mr Ronald Holmes, president of Pulse Asia.
The presidential communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Marcos, who is also agriculture minister, has struggled to keep inflation in check, with the pace of price increases still outside the government’s 2 to 4 per cent target despite interventions liike food tariff cuts.
The annual rate of inflation was 6.6 per cent at the end of August.
Marcos imposed a cap on rice prices nationwide on Sept 5 and last week approved 12.7 billion pesos (S$310 million) in financial assistance to about 2.3 million rice farmers to help them cope with the El Nino weather phenomenon and higher production costs.
Vice-President Sara Duterte, daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, also suffered a decline in approval rating, dropping 11 points to 73 per cent.
The survey was held amid congressional deliberations on the 2024 budget that included debates on controversial intelligence funds sought by agencies, such as those led by Duterte. - Reuters/Bloomberg
