Disapproval of Marcos' handling of inflation rises

MANILA -- Inflation is still the most urgent concern of Filipinos, according to a survey by Pulse Asia Research released on Monday.

The study showed 72 percent of survey respondents said that controlling inflation was an urgent national concern.

A similar poll conducted in September showed that 74 percent of Filipinos thought inflation was a pressing issue.

After inflation, increasing workers' pay was the second most urgent concern at 40 percent, while the creation of more jobs was third at 28 percent.

Reduction of poverty meanwhile ranked fourth at 25 percent, and fighting graft and corruption in government was fifth at 19 percent.

The Pulse Asia study further showed that 73 percent of Filipinos’ disapprove of the way the government has been handling inflation.

The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., however, enjoys majority approval ratings for how protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (78 pct), helping calamity-hit areas (76 pct), protecting the environment (62 pct), promoting peace (61 pct), and defending national
territorial integrity (61 pct.).

It also scored majority approval for fighting criminality (56 pct) and enforcing the rule of law (51 pct).

Pulse Asia however also noted that disapproval levels went up in December on several issues compared to its last survey in September.

Higher disapproval levels were seen regarding the administration’s efforts to deal with the problem of involuntary hunger (+8 percentage points), reducing poverty (+8 percentage points), fighting corruption (+10 percentage points), increasing the pay of workers (+12 percentage points), and controlling inflation (+17 percentage points).

Inflation eased to 3.9 percent in December 2023, the lowest inflation recorded last year.

• Inflation eases to 3.9 percent in December

The approval ratings of Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte also slightly went up during the fourth quarter of 2023.

• Marcos, Duterte approval ratings slightly go up

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