PRESIDENT-ELECT Rodrigo Duterte got a “moderate” 26 percent net trust rating, while Vice President-elect Leni Robredo obtained a “good” 45 percent, in the last Social Weather Stations (SWS) pre-election survey.
The “not commissioned” survey was conducted from May 1 to 3 among 4,500 respondents, before the May 9 elections.
But pray tell me, why did Duterte win the presidency?
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Former presidents Fidel Ramos had a “good” 32 percent net trust rating, Erap Estrada had a “good” 35 rating, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had a “good” 34 rating and Noynoy Aquino had a “very good” 64 rating.
How did they compute Duterte’s net trust rating? Well, 54 percent of the respondents said they had “much trust” in Duterte while 28 percent said they had “little trust” in him.
They simply subtracted the “little trust” from the “much trust” percentage and they got the net rating. That’s how.
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But lawyer Salvador Panelo, incoming presidential spokesman, said Duterte’s moderate net trust rating did not reflect Duterte’s victory in the presidential race.
“How can that happen when he got an overwhelming mandate? He has yet to assume office and then he got (a net trust rating of positive) 26? It seems unbelievable,” Panelo said.
Well, Estrada got a good net trust rating, but he later got ousted.
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The SWS popularity surveys quite accurately predicted the outcome of the last presidential elections, with Duterte on top of the heap.
Panelo is not discounting the possibility that the pre-election survey respondents were supporters of Duterte’s rivals. “Naturally, if you ask the non-supporters, that’s the rating you will get,” Panelo said.
Wow, Panelo nailed it. Indeed, how can supporters of other presidential bets trust Duterte?
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But the pre-election trust survey was not about Duterte and Robredo. The SWS did not release the trust ratings of the other presidential candidates.
Surely, Duterte’s supporters also did not trust the other presidential wannabes.
Anyway, Panelo said he believes Duterte would gain the trust of Filipinos once he assumes office.
“There will be action on his first day,” the incoming presidential spokesman said.