Rice, oil price hikes to blame for Arroyo SWS rating plunge

(Updated 5:10 p.m.) MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang officials on Friday said the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing a dive in President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s net satisfaction rating was not surprising. Presidential Management Staff chief Cerge Remonde said President Arroyo's -38 net satisfaction rating may have been the result of the rising rice and fuel prices in the country, which he said should not be blamed on the government. Still, the official said Malacañang sees the survey result as a challenge to improve public service and disseminate information on projects like microfinancing. "The result is obviously due to the problems confronting the country brought about by the global food and energy crises. The President is paying a high price for making the right decisions on very unpopular issues such as the Evat (expanded value-added tax)," Remonde said. "We consider it as a continuing challenge," he added. Remonde also said such an assessment of Mrs Arroyo is "unfair," saying it is "never easy" being the country's Chief Executive. "(W)hile the President is sensitive to public opinion, she took an oath that requires her to do what is right not what is popular... But this is part of the burden of leadership that all leaders in the world, including US President (George) Bush must carry. To whom much responsibility is given, much is required. It's never easy to be president of the Philippines," Remonde said. President Arroyo's - 38 net satisfaction rating is a further deterioration from her personal previous low of -33 in May 2005 and the lowest public satisfaction rating of the country's leader since 1986. In the interview, Remonde expressed dismay at some administrations critics’ linking the steep decline in President Arroyo’s net satisfaction ratings to her decision to push through with her diplomatic trip to the United States at the height of typhoon “Frank." Remonde defended the President by saying that she attended to rescue and relief operations to typhoon victims even while she was in the US. For her part, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo echoed Remonde's statement, saying she was not surprised with the net satisfaction rating because the country is plagued by several problems, even as she said these problems are not within the government's control. "It is lonely at the top. Where else shall the people look for relief but from the president and government? The dissatisfaction does not come as a surprise. As a country, we are all suffering from the world economic downturn, factors beyond our control have seriously assaulted our economy and our way of life," Fajardo said. "The high price of fuel has tremendously affected our economy. If not for our strong economic fundamentals in the past years, we can only imagine how devastating the world fuel price crisis would have affected us. The sound economic and fiscal program of government has provided us with the necessary buoyancy that has so far kept us afloat in these rough seas," she added. The SWS said President Arroyo’s satisfaction ratings for the last four quarters have tracked a declining trend - posting quarterly scores, in chronological order, of -11, -16, -26, and the latest -38. President Arroyo's last relatively favorable rating was a neutral -3 in June 2007. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV