In latest SWS survey, Arroyo's ratings near rock bottom

Already the least popular Philippine president since the dawn of political surveys in the 1980s, President Gloria Arroyo dropped further in the latest satisfaction ratings conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS). The decline in her ratings was nationwide and across all income classes. In the quarterly survey conducted Sept. 18-21, the biggest drop was by 13 percent in Luzon outside Metro Manila, but her ratings also fell in the Visayas and Mindanao where she and her political allies have traditionally done well in elections. Dissatisfaction with the president in Metro Manila, historically opposition turf, remained steady at -46 percent (21% satisfied, 66% dissatisfied), which was the lowest in the country.

In a media release today, the SWS noted that "dissatisfaction intensified in all classes,"with men and women "equally dissatisfied" with the President. President Arroyo's overall satisfaction rating was a net of -38 (23% satisfied minus 62% dissatisfied, correctly rounded), which is classified as "bad". It fell from a net rating of -31 (26% satisfied, 56% dissatisfied, correctly rounded) in the second quarter survey in July 2009. "That's an effect of August 5," said political analyst Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute on Political and Economic Reform, referring to the funeral of former president Corazon Aquino, whose death prompted comparisons between her modest lifestyle and the alleged extravagance of the Arroyos. It was also later that month that news broke of the presidential entourage's so-called "lavish" dinners in the United States, which Casiple said worsened Arroyo's image problem in the weeks leading up to the September survey. A more detailed breakdown of the survey results can be seen here. In an ambush interview in the Senate today, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita brushed off questions about the survey results. “Huwag na natin pag-usapan masyado ang pulitika dahil nakakaawa ang ating mga kababayan (Let's not talk politics while our countrymen are suffering)," he told reporters. - Howie Severino, Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV