A slight surprise woke us up last week as we saw the survey report of the social weather stations on the net satisfaction ratings of various branches of government. Quoting the Social Weather Stations, (https://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20181019235100)
“The Third Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey, fielded on September 15-23, 2018, found 62% satisfied and 14% dissatisfied with the performance of the Senate, 53% satisfied and 17% dissatisfied with the House of Representatives, 49% satisfied and 18% dissatisfied with the Supreme Court of the Philippines, and 48% satisfied and 16% dissatisfied with the Cabinet as a whole [Tables 1, 2, and 3].
The resulting net satisfaction ratings (% satisfied minus % dissatisfied) were a good+48 for the Senate, a good +36 for the House of Representatives, a good +31 for the Supreme Court, and a good +32 for the Cabinet.”
To condense the rest of the SWS release, all of these branches of government reported increases in their net satisfaction ratings.
This follows the increase in the same for thr President to “Very Good” in the same survey period of late September 2018.
This increased net satisfaction rating is curious given the constant bombardment of negative press against government, particularly the President, and the high economic inflation we are are currently experiencing.
An examination of the results will show a dip among the ABC and E class, but a rise in net satisfaction among the majority D class. The E class at 25% are barely touched by media while the ABC class where most of the bloggers and social media personalities belong to, registered the biggest drop, to wit:
“By class, it rose from moderate to good among class D, up by 12 points from +21 in June to +33 in September. However, it fell from good to moderate among class E, down by 4 points from +33 to +21. It fell by two grades from very good to moderateamong classes ABC, down by 29 points from +56 to +27.”
It is worth noting in this light that ABC representd about 5% of the population, while the E class comprises about 25%. The D class is a whopping 70 of the populace, where most of thre votes are coming from.
What this may show is that the mainstream media, or some of the outlets are incapable of carrying mainstream public opinion against the President and his Cabinet to warrant a change in the attitude of the D class. They may capture ABC and E, but taken together this constitutes the minority in the country.
This may also show that despitr challenges, the D class is most satisfied with efforts of government, hence the positive satisfaction. It is this class that will feel the effects of infrastructure and improved transport, faster drivers license reneewals and free education.
Of late, they will be the first to feel cheaper rice prices that will keep going down in thr next month. It is this same class that expresses its admiration at the lowered crime rates in their communities due to the war on drugs.
All told, the majority D are the ones who support the President and his government.
It will seem from the positive survey numbers, that the people as a whole are not buying opposition statements that the President and his men are to blame for high prices.