Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has witnessed the biggest drop in his ratings upon losing 11 points following several scandals linked to the anti-drug campaign in the country, according to a survey published Monday.
Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella played down the relevance of the results and pointed out that he still enjoyed the people's support, Efe news reported.
Controversy over the deaths of young people in the "war on drugs" launched by Duterte after coming to power last year and allegations of his alleged fortune were responsible for the decline, according to a survey conducted by independent pollster Social Weather Stations.
However, 67 per cent of the respondents claimed to be "satisfied" with Duterte's management as opposed to 19 per cent who were not, and 14 per cent were undecided, according to the survey of 1,500 people polled throughout the country at the end of September.
The data showed a sharp decline in the President's popularity from June, when another survey by the polling company had shown that 78 per cent of Filipinos were satisfied with Duterte while 12 per cent had said they were dissatisfied and 10 per cent were undecided.
The new survey came at the most difficult time of Duterte's 15 months in power, during which his anti-drug campaign left 3,800 people dead at the hands of the police and a similar number killed by neighbourhood patrols protected by the climate of impunity prevailing in the country.
Moreover, the Office of the Ombudsman of the Philippines had launched an investigation into Duterte's bank accounts following allegations by his biggest political rival, Senator Antonio Trillanes, that the President was concealing an undeclared fortune.
Net satisfaction of Filipinos with the President's performance was "good", down from the "very good" in the survey carried out four months ago.
The survey also measured Duterte's "net trust rating", an indicator that recorded more moderate falls.
Seventy three per cent of the respondents said they had a lot of trust in their President, compared to 82 per cent in June.
The presidential spokesperson said in a televised press conference that the results were as expected.
--IANS
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