06 October 2016•Update: 07 October 2016
By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, the Philippines
A majority of Filipinos have given President Rodrigo Duterte a high satisfaction rating for his first three months in office despite a controversial drug policy and expletive-laden remarks that have earned criticism from the international community.
On Thursday, the Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported the president had yielded a “very good” net satisfaction rating and an approval level of 76 percent for his first three months in charge citing an Oct. 6 survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
Based on the survey, Duterte gained a +64 net satisfaction or “very good" rating in the first quarter.
The president managed a "very good" rating from across socioeconomic classes with +65, while males put him at +71 and females at +58.
Among past leaders post-President Ferdinand Marcos, only Fidel Ramos scored better at a “very good” +66 (70 percent satisfied, 4 percent dissatisfied) in a 1992 survey.
A total of 1,200 adult respondents participated in the face-to-face survey conducted by SWS Sept. 24-26, which had a +/- 3 percent error margin.
Since Duterte took office, he has told U.S. President Barack Obama "you can go to hell" over U.S. criticism of an deadly anti-drug campaign that has left more than 3,000 suspected drug dealers and pushers dead in just three months, adding that he may eventually decide to "break up with America".
He also lashed out at the European Union over criticism of the crackdown, saying it "better choose purgatory, hell is filled up".
Meanwhile, a former national security adviser has described the first 100 days of Duterte's rule as "exceptional," particularly in addressing insurgency, broken politics and business monopolies.
Jose Almonte, who served as National Security Agency director general under Ramos, described Duterte’s first 100 days in office as "exceptional" when asked during a presidential press briefing.
He said the Philippines has had an internal war since 1946 and commended Duterte’s move to declare an indefinite ceasefire to give way to a peace process with the Communist Party of the Philippines.
"This is the longest communist insurgency in the world. And we are at the same time, having a problem of separatist movement in the South. So that’s number one. Number two is our broken politics,” the state-run news agency quoted Almonte as saying.
