The latest Pulse Asia survey, which was conducted from March 1 to 7, and was released on its Web site on Tuesday said Mr. Aquino’s approval rating plummeted 21 points, from 59% in November last year to 38% in March. Mr. Aquino’s trust rating also fell from 56% to 36% in the same period, the report indicated.

“This is the first time the President has posted non-majority national approval and trust ratings in Ulat ng Bayan surveys since he was first rated as President by survey respondents back in October 2010,” the Pulse Asia media release said, adding that the figures also are “his lowest national approval and trust raings since assuming the presidency in 2010.”

The survey, which drew from a sample population of 1,200 people nationwide, came at the heels of the bungled counterterrorism police operation code-named “Exodus,” where at least 67 people died including 44 government commandos, 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters and five civilians.

A breakdown of the approval ratings showed that Filipinos in the Visayan region registered the most decline in the percentages, going down from 68% to 41% in the same time frame. Approvals of those in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Mindanao went down by 23 and 22 points, respectively, to 26% and 45%.

MORE DIFFICULT
Dwindling public satisfaction will make it harder for the Aquino administration to muster political support to push for its priority legislative measures, political analyst Prospero E. de Vera III, a professor at the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG), said.

“The President’s political capital is eroding very fast and dramatic, and that makes it very difficult for him to muster political support for crucial legislation that they want enacted before the end of his term,” Mr. de Vera told BusinessWorld on Tuesday.

Edmund S. Tayao, a political science professor at the University of Santo Tomas (UST), expressed the same sentiments. The President’s “eroding” public support would mean that the administration may be less effective in pursuing its initiatives, including its reform measures such as the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), Mr. Tayao said.

“This problem is also compounded by the fact that the Aquino administration does not have the benefit of the pork barrel system unlike previous administration, to mobilize his political allies,” Mr. de Vera said.

“He has no ‘carrot’ that can be efficiently used to mobilize support. And number two, he’s dealing with a very touchy issue that can easily agitate people... and so it is an issue where some legislators will either take a neutral stance or stay away from,” Mr. de Vera said, referring to the Mamasapano incident.

For his part, Mr. Tayao said that the current administration should continue to pursue the enactment of the BBL, saying that it may yet redeem the Aquino administration.

BUSINESS HOPEFUL
Meanwhile, business groups remain unfazed by the President’s lower approval and trust ratings.

“From other viewpoints, still high. Ability is lessened actually and key policies may be delayed. But that’s it. Not so big impact,” Nobuo Fuuji, vice-president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines told BusinessWorld in a text message.

Sought for comment, Henry J. Schumacher, executive director of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), for his part said: “I believe that the leadership of both Houses of Congress are sufficiently motivated to push economic reform measures.”

“The administration must remain focused on what remains to be done such as infrastructure projects and the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) [projects], key legislations like the FoI (Freedom of Information), anti-trust [bill], [creation of the] DICT (Department of Information and Communication Technology), and others, the Mindanao peace process, inclusive growth programs and the institutionalization of the reforms,” Makati Business Club President Peter V. Perfecto said in a text message.

Source: Business World Online