Honeymoon's over: Drop in Marcos, Sara approval ratings 'a wake-up call'

The honeymoon period is over for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte in terms of their approval and trust ratings.

Political analyst Dennis Coronacion said the drop in Marcos and Duterte's approval ratings should serve as a wake-up call for the country's highest officials.

"Madami na ang naniniwala na hindi na OK 'yung kanilang ginagawa. This is normal and expected. Tapos na sila sa tinatawag natin na honeymoon period," he said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview. 

• Marcos, Duterte suffer 'significant erosions' in approval scores: Pulse Asia

The Pulse Asia survey, conducted from Sept. 10 to 14, found 65% of 1,200 respondents approved of President Marcos's performance, down 15 points from 80% in a June poll.

Vice President Sara Duterte, daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, also suffered a decline in approval ratings, dropping 11 points to 73%.

Coronacion said the end of the honeymoon period, wherein critics are often kinder to the newly elected officials, means that the top officials will undergo greater scrutiny. 

He said the issue of the confidential funds of the Office of the Vice-President and the Department of Educarion could have affected Mrs. Duterte's ratings. 

• Davao City had P2.6B in confidential funds from 2016-2022
• OVP explains spending P125-M confidential funds in 19 days in 2022

"Kung pumasok 'yan during the survey period, definitely nakakasira 'yan sa imahe ng Vice-President...She could not justify very well bakit niya kailangan ng confidential funds. Ang mga Pilipino napaka-militant nila diyan," he said. 

Coronacion said the surveys can be seen as a form of feedback mechanism for Marcos and Duterte. 

"-Importante po 'yan... it adds up to the perception of the legitimacy of the president... D'yan nanggagaling ang suporta ng mamamayan. Kung mababa ang approval rating, trust rating, parang napakahirap sumunod ng mga tao sa kanila," he said.