MANILA - Public satisfaction with the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has risen to a record high that surpassed the record of his predecessor, according to an opinion survey released Wednesday.

The administration scored a net satisfaction rating of +70 in a Social Weather Stations' survey of 1,200 respondents from December 8 to 16, 2017.

This score qualifies as "excellent," the highest rating in the SWS scale. It was 12 points higher than the "very good" +58 in September 2017, the SWS said.

The latest rating also surpassed the previous record of "very good" +66 achieved by the previous administration of Benigno Aquino III in June 2013, the pollster added.

Net satisfaction is the difference between the satisfaction and dissatisfaction scores. In the most recent survey, 79 percent said they were satisfied with the President, 12 percent were dissatisfied and 9 percent were undecided.

RATINGS ACROSS REGIONS

The 12-point gain in the Duterte administration's net satisfaction rating between September to December 2017 was due to new "record-high net satisfaction scores" achieved in Mindanao, Metro Manila and Balance Luzon, combined with a steady score in the Visayas, the SWS said.

The administration’s net rating stayed excellent in Mindanao, at a new record-high +87 in December 2017, up by 13 points from +74 in September 2017. This surpassed the previous Mindanao record of +81 in September 2016, the survey found.

In Metro Manila, meanwhile, the satisfaction rating rose to an "excellent" +71, 20 points higher from the "very good" +51 in September.

It stayed "very good" in Balance Luzon at a new record-high +67 and in the Visayas at +57.

SCORES ACROSS SOCIO-ECONOMIC CLASSES

The government's satisfaction rating also hit a new record-high at an "excellent" +71 among the class D or "masa." The score was 11 points higher than September's +60, the SWS said.

The rating was "very good" at +66 in the poorest class E, and +62 among the richest class ABC.

Malacañang welcomed the survey results, saying it would boost the Duterte administration's performance.

"This excellent public confidence will continue to motivate the President and his team to continue working hard to lay down the foundations of a peaceful and prosperous nation," Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement Thursday.

First published on BusinessWorld, the survey has sampling error margins of ±3 percent at the national level, ±6 at the regional level.