Aquino still in deep slumber despite wake up call

Mahar Mangahas commented on this column in my FB wall:

“Ellen, the SWS report about the 2013Q2 rating of the ADMINISTRATION was NOT a recycled piece; it was simply the final release from the 2013Q2 SWS survey. It is different from the SWS report on the 2013Q2 rating of the PERSONAL PERFORMANCE OF PNoy, which was released much earlier. Our report last week on the 2013Q3 personal rating of Pnoy was the first of a series from the third quarter survey; more will follow in due course, including the rating of the Administration (not the person) again. http://www.sws.org.ph/pr20130923.htm

“Ellen, here is the earlier SWS report about the 2nd quarter rating of PNoy, that you claimed was “recycled.” SWS does not do recycling; publicity is not our occupation.
http://www.sws.org.ph/pr20130729.htm”

Now we know why the three-month old survey of the Social Weather Station showing a high public satisfaction for the Aquino administration was recycled last Sept. 19.

At the height of the pork barrel/Janet Napoles scandal and the bungling of the Zamboanga conflict involving the Nur Misuari’s Moro National Liberation Front, the SWS survey conducted June 28-30 and was reported about in July was released again and was carried by major media outlets.

The lead of the story was the highest satisfaction rating (three out of four Filipinos) for the Aquino administration. Startling lead given the unfavorable headlines daily for more than a month.

Only when the reader read closely would he have known that the survey was conducted three months earlier when Napoles, PDAF and DAP were not in the national consciousness and Misuari’s men had not yet marched into Zamboanga.

Was that done to influence the respondents of the survey that was to be conducted by SWS on Sept 20 through 23?

The major media outlets were had. But as Abraham Lincoln said, “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”

The result of the latest survey came out and it showed that the number of people not happy with how President Aquino is performing.

Respondents consisting of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, ±6% for area percentages) were asked: “Please tell me how satisfied or dissatisfied you are in the performance of Benigno Aquino III as President of the Philippines. Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, undecided if satisfied or dissatisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, very dissatisfied, or you have not ever heard or read anything about Benigno Aquino III?”.

Sixty-eight percent said they are satisfied and 19 percent said they are not satisfied resulting in a net rating of 49 percent. Still good, the SWS said.

Of course, it’s good. It is still plus 49. Not minus compared to the ratings of Gloria Arroyo.

But the decline is 15 points. This is the biggest dip in satisfaction ratings.

He got his highest satisfaction rating of 67 percent in Aug. 2012, and then declined to 55 percent four months after. A 12- point slide. Even when he got his lowest satisfaction rating of 42 percent in May 2012, it was just a seven-point decrease from 49 percent March 2012 survey.

The decline in the President Satisfaction rating may hurt his ego but it should do him and the people around him good.

It should clip, even for a bit, their arrogance and their air of “we can’t be doing anything wrong because, look, the President is popular.”

It should be another wake up call. The question is, magigising ba?

The President’s reaction putting the blame on Gloria Arroyo and ignoring the rot in his administration tells us he is still in deep slumber.