The countdown on the decline of the Aquino administration began three days before the New Year. On that day, the newspapers published the December 8 to 11 Social Weather Stations survey showing President Benigno Aquino III's net satisfaction rating plunging by 12 points from his +67 rating in August, just five months ago.
SWS released the survey results in the face of claims by the administration that it had posted impressive economic gains during the past year, on the basis of which it made optimistic forecasts on growth in 2013.
The plummeting ratings showed that public opinion was not disposed to give the administration thunderous applause for its claims of economic success. According to the SWS survey, the president's net satisfaction rating fell from plus 67 per cent in August to plus 55 in December. The August rating of plus 67 represented a rebound from the plus 42 the president obtained in May. The president's annual average rating was plus 53, matching his 2011 score.
The SWS said the president's ratings fell in all areas, socio-economic classes and genders. The results of the survey draws a picture of the general decline of the president's net satisfaction ratings during the past three years, an erosion that has taken place against the propaganda bombardment that the administration was running the country well with his ("straight path") anti-corruption campaign, even as it has been neglecting economic and social reform programmes intended to reduce poverty.
The SWS tried to cushion the impact of its surveys on the erosion of the president's ratings by couching these with misleading words such as: despite the plunge of the president's ratings, it rated his performance in the last quarter of 2012 "very good".
SWS considered "very good" the president's net satisfaction of plus 53. The Palace promptly echoed SWS definitions, and said that the president's performance rating was "very good" even with the dip of 12 points in August. Despite the Palace's self-rating, the surveys clearly show that the decline has been gaining momentum, and unless it is reversed soon enough, the only way to go is downhill, accelerating into a free fall.
The festering discontent manifested by the survey results signals possible electoral setbacks for the administration as it faces mid-term elections in May for members of the House, provincial governors and municipal officials and half of the Senate.
President Aquino, in his New Year's message, expressed concern over the prospects of his administration enjoying continued electoral support in the mid-terms, which he had previously referred to as a referendum of his three-year performance. In his message, the president called for "a tighter unity" in the face of the elections.
He said he expected the people would be more critical in choosing the leaders they elect. Although he did not mention the surveys, it was clear he was bothered by the results.
He said the country needed leaders "who will nurture the reforms we have sown". He said 2013 would be a "critical stage" for the administration's campaign for long-term development and good governance. He emphasised the importance of voting for the right leaders to the Senate.
The administration is fielding 12 senatorial candidates on the back of his political machine, the Liberal Party, that is being challenged by an opposition coalition, the United Nationalist Alliance.
A rift has opened between the UNA and the administration over the heavy-handed actions of the administration in suspending Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia, allegedly for "abuse of power" just months before the elections. The administration has been warned against forcibly evicting Garcia from the capital, where she has dug in, disobeying the suspension order. The siege is becoming increasingly volatile. A showdown can explode in the face of the administration's electoral campaign.
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Article source: http://www.thethailandlinks.com/2013/01/03/countdown-to-decline-begins/
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