Arroyo approval rating at -11; lowest for '07 - SWS

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's satisfaction rating has fallen back into "negative territory," slipping to –11, the lowest so far this year. The figure was lower than her –4 in February and –3 in June this year. Pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS) said this was the result of a survey conducted from September 2 to 5, which was made exclusive to “BusinessWorld" newspaper. First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo netted a –37 trust rating in the survey. SWS said the survey also pointed to a loss of support in the Visayas and Mindanao and increasing dissatisfaction in areas of Luzon outside of Metro Manila. The SWS released the results in the wake of the controversy over the $329.5-million National Broadband Network (NBN) project deal with ZTE Corp. of China. The First Gentleman had been linked to the mess. The controversy spawned calls for the scrapping of the deal despite President Arroyo's order Saturday to suspend it. Last Sunday, a ring tone on the ZTE controversy was posted on popular video sharing site YouTube. Malacañang described the results as having been influenced by media, but also called it as a "challenge to do better." "We must consider that surveys are based on people's perceptions that are shaped by the media where bad news is good news. I do not blame the media but nevertheless this is a challenge to do better," Presidential Management Staff head Cerge Remonde told BusinessWorld. "The President has been open to all criticisms, especially the constructive ones," he added. In the survey, 34 percent of respondents believed Mrs Arroyo had performed satisfactorily compared to 42 percent who thought otherwise. Metro Manila was where she was rated the worst, with the net rating at -24. This was up, however, from June's -31. In Luzon areas outside Metro Manila, her rating went down to -18 from -6. In the Visayas, satisfaction with Arroyo was neutral at +1 from +10 last June. Her net satisfaction rating in Mindanao dropped to -1 from +8 in the last quarter. The SWS also noted that the dissatisfaction had worsened in urban areas. However, the rating turned from mainly satisfied to neutral in rural areas, the report said. Urban satisfaction with the President declined to 32 percent from 36 percent while dissatisfaction increased to 50 percent from 48 percent. This brought down Mrs Arroyo's net rating down to -18 from -12 earlier. Rural satisfaction went down to 36 percent from 44 percent while dissatisfaction rose to 39 percent from 36 percent. This led to a decrease in her rural net rating to a neutral -3 from +8 previously. Among social classes, the survey showed that satisfaction with Mrs Arroyo had dropped among the poor and the masses. Her net rating among Class E plunged to -13 from neutral last June. It also declined among Class D respondents at -12 from -5. Satisfaction with President Arroyo improved among the upper and middle class to +8 from +4 in June. First Gentleman The survey had 58 percent of respondents saying they had little trust in the First Gentleman, compared to 20 percent who replied that they had much trust in him. This translated to a net trust rating of -37. In 20 national SWS surveys from January 2001 to September 2007, the average proportion trusting the First Gentleman was only 20 percent, while the average proportion distrusting him was 51 percent, giving him an average net trust rating of -31 in the said period. The only time his net trust rating was positive was in January 2001, the SWS said. "Distrust in him was already dominant even in the times up to mid-2004, when most people were satisfied with the President," SWS said. It added that the First Gentleman was relatively distrusted even among those satisfied with Mrs Arroyo. Distrust in him was 49 percent among those satisfied with Mrs Arroyo's performance, but rose to 67 percent among those dissatisfied with her. Remonde said the survey was "unfair" to the First Gentleman. "It is quite unfair to him since he has been trying to establish a low-profile personality. He is also engaged in some good activities like funding health initiatives and developing sports," he said. Media attacks may have contributed to the public's negative perception about the First Gentleman, Remonde added. The SWS survey used face-to face interviews of 1,200 adults divided into random samples of 300 each in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The sampling error was +/-3 percent for national percentages and +/-6 percent for area percentages. - GMANews.TV