MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday welcomed with humility the latest Pulse Asia survey showing that 87 percent of Filipinos still trust the President’s leadership.
According to Pulse Asia’s June 2018 survey, Duterte also registered his highest approval rating of 88 percent, two years after his overwhelming victory in the 2016 elections.
“The President views these latest survey results with all humility. However, he is not leading the country for the sake of high or good ratings,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.
Roque said the Chief Executive is simply fulfilling his campaign promises “with the best interest of Filipinos in mind.”
“PRRD is working double time to rid society of drugs, criminality and corruption to achieve his goal of bringing comfortable life for all,” he said.
Roque also expressed gratitude to the Filipino people’s “continuing vote of confidence” for the President.
Duterte’s political allies, former Senate president Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III and House of Representatives Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez also got high scores in the survey.
Pimentel received a 72-percent approval and 64-percent trust ratings while Alvarez also has a high trust score of 87 percent, but with only a 47-percent approval rating.
Vice President Leni Robredo, meanwhile, also got high scores of 62-percent approval and 57-percent trust ratings, both lower than the Chief Executive’s ratings.
The Pulse Asia survey came out a day after Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena reportedly said his government would replicate the “success” of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs.
“I know that it is not only the Sri Lankan who believed the President (Duterte) but more than 88 percent of the Filipinos really admire our President,” Roque said in an interview over state-run Radyo Pilipinas.
“This Pulse Asia 88 percent, all time high of any President. So it is not really surprising that even in Sri Lanka, the President has a fan,” Roque said.