Palace thanks Filipinos for high approval and trust ratings to President Duterte

Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque, Jr. thanked the Filipino people for President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s stratospheric approval and trust ratings, where nine out of ten Filipinos trust the Chief Executive and approve of his performance, according to the most recent Pulse Asia survey.

The President received 91 percent trust rating and 91 percent approval rating on the survey that looked into the trust and performance of top national officials of the country. The survey revealed that trust is the predominant sentiment to the President.

“Maraming maraming salamat po sa taumbayang Pilipino na ang trust at performance rating po ng ating Presidente ay napakataas at 91 percent. Ang pangako po talaga ng Presidente gagawin niya ang lahat para makabangon po tayo sa pandemyang ito at isasantabi po talaga niya ang pulitika,” said Secretary Roque during his October 5 media briefing held in Boracay.

The Palace official said that the President’s ratings could be attributed to the fact that the President had set aside politicking at this time of pandemic and stressed the need to unite as a nation to help everyone particularly the most vulnerable.

“Tingin ko gusto ng taumbayan na hindi namumulitika sa panahon ng pandemya. Nakikita naman nila na ginagawa ng Presidente ang lahat ng pupwedeng gawin para mas kakaunting Pilipino ang magkakasakit ng COVID-19,” said Sec. Roque.

The President’s spokesman added, “Lahat po ng Pilipino, supporter niya, kalaban niya, iaahon po niya hangga’t maaari sa kahirapan na dinulot ng pandemya. Ang panawagan po ulit ng Presidente sa lahat ng pulitiko isantabi muna natin yan, 2022 pa po yan. Tulungan natin ang ating kababayan.”

In the same media briefing, the concurrent spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) shared the latest developments from the policy-making body, first among which is the approval of the recommendation of the economic cluster to gradually reopen the economy in increments that is proportional to the country’s healthcare capacity.

Roque said that in the IATF’s October 2 meeting, the body approved the recommendation to further enhance the prevent, detect, isolate, treat, and recover strategy of the National Task Force Against COVID-19. This will be done through the continuous improvement of the country’s hospital care capacity, the further reopening of public transportation, and maintaining current community quarantine classifications with stricter implementation and observance of health and safety protocols.

On another matter, the Presidential Spokesperson was in Boracay to inspect the island after it was reopened for tourism for everyone who are in areas that are already under the general community quarantine. Roque encouraged the public to visit Boracay to help spur tourism in the area and bring jobs and livelihood to displaced workers.

On encouraging tourists to come to Boracay, Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores said that the provincial government had a meeting with the island’s tourism sector where it was agreed upon to give discounts to accommodations of up to 75 percent to augment the cost of RT-PCR test, which is currently required for entry in the island.

Governor Miraflores also assured that the province of Aklan and the municipality of Malay are prepared and have the medical facilities to accommodate any tourist who may develop COVID-19 symptoms while in the island.

On the part of Malay Mayor Frolibar Bautista, he assured that the local government has already issued certificates to operate to many accommodation facilities and establishments to support the reopening of businesses and establishments in the island. While on the part of businesses in the area, Henry Chusuey, chairman of the Henann Group of Resorts, asked that Boracay be considered also as a pilot site for rapid antigen test like Baguio City to make it easier for tourists to come to the island.(OPS-PCOO)