Jobs, price control and addressing corruption are among the issues the public wants the government to immediately address during the first six months of the Aquino administration, a recent Pulse Asia survey said.
Of the 1,200 respondents nationwide, 36 percent want employment provisions to be the priority of President Benigno Aquino III, especially by those from Luzon (43 percent), Metro Manila (35 percent), and the Visayas (33 percent), the survey said.
Inflation and price control on basic commodities and gasoline, which is the second highest concern of Filipinos (22 percent), are the main concern of the Mindanaons (32 percent).
The survey was conducted from July 1 to 11, or the first few days of Aquino as president. The Pulse Asia survey also said jobs are also the main concern of the “masa" or those belonging to Class D (38 percent) and the “poor" or Class E (35 percent), while the “elite" or those belonging to Class ABC want employment, reduction of price of basic commodities and gasoline, and solving corruption (22 percent each) prioritized.
About 13 percent of the Filipinos also want Aquino to prioritize the fight against corruption in the next six months, followed by the improvement of access to education (6 percent), increase in salaries (4 percent), the development of the agricultural sector (3 percent), and the securing of peace and provision of housing, and livelihood (2 percent each). The other issues raised by the survey respondents are the improvement of infrastructure; the reduction of poverty or provision of assistance to the poor; ensuring justice for all; the fight against criminality; the increasing of investments in the country; ensuring senior citizens welfare; improving the government’s fiscal position; improving access to health services and lowering the cost of medicine; reducing the cost and improvement of access to utilities; and the rationalization of the bureaucracy (1 percent each). The said survey, meanwhile, showed that of the 1,200 respondents, 85 percent said they expect Aquino to give importance to the controlling of the increasing prices of commodities as against the 0.3 percent that believe that it would not be as important to the present administration.
Seventy-five percent believe Aquino would consider it very important to craft new pro-poor programs including those on education, health and housing as against the 0.1 percent that said it would not be important at all. Seventy-three percent of the respondents also believe that stimulating the economy to create more jobs is very important as against the 0.1 percent that believes otherwise; also, 59 percent believe preparing a program to address the fiscal and debt problems of the country would be very important as against the 0.4 percent that believes otherwise. Forty-nine percent said the provision of loans for small businesses and self-employed would be very important while 1 percent believes otherwise; also, 56 percent expect Aquino to give importance in the continuing of the peace negotiations as against the 0.4 percent that believes it is not important at all; Sixty-percent said it is very important to appoint officials with skills, experience and integrity to key government positions while 0.4 percent believes otherwise; also, 54 percent believe forging a government of national unity to reduce political hostility is very important as against 0.4 percent that believes otherwise.
The Pulse Survey also showed that 85 percent of the Filipinos fully trust Aquino, which the survey company said is the “highest trust rating ever recorded by any individual included in Pulse Asia’s trust probes since 1999." Of the 1,200 respondents, only 2 percent distrust Aquino while 13 percent are still unable to say if they trust or distrust him. Aquino’s trust rating is 18 percentage points higher than his rating in April (67 percent), while distrust ratings declined by 9 percentage points from 11 percent in Aril to 2 percent in July.
The President also enjoys basically the same trust ratings across the country’s geographic areas — with the highest in the Visayas (83 percent), followed by Mindanao and Luzon (84 percent) and Metro Manila (83 percent) - and the socio-economic groupings with the highest trust rating from the poor sector (Class E, 88 percent), followed by the elite (Class ABC, 86 percent) and the masa (Class D, 84 percent). Aquino’s cabinet appointees are also well-received by the public with the respondents “aware" of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Jesus Versoza (87 percent); and Foreign Affairs secretary Alberto Romulo and Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman (82 percent each).
The public is also “aware" of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad (73 percent each); Armed Forces chief Ricardo David (69 percent), Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima (65 percent), Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa (63 percent), Education Secretary Brother Armin Luistro (62 percent), and defense Secretary Gazmin and Presidential Adviser Teresita Deles (57 percent each). Seventy percent of the respondents also approved of Soliman’s appointment, De Lima (69 percent); Romulo (67 percent); Versoza (67 percent); David (64 percent); Abad (62 percent); Luistro (58 percent); Purisima (55 percent); Ochoa (55 percent); Deles (51 percent), Gazmin (50 percent). - KBK
