By Joshua Corcuera
A study conducted and publicized last February 11 by Singapore-based ASEAN Studies Center found that — in Southeast Asia (East Timor not included) — Filipinos are the most disapproving of their government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This survey from an independent and reliable statistics firm is a blow to the government as it exposed the pulse of the people regarding how the Philippine government dealt with the public health crisis.
The survey revealed that 17.9% of Filipinos strongly disapprove the government’s response to the pandemic, another 35.8% disapprove. On the other hand, only 6% strongly approve the government’s dealing with the crisis while another 19.4% approve. The remaining 20.9% of respondents were neutral. To make things short, majority of Filipinos — 53.7% to be precise — does not approve of the way the government is handling the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, to whatever degree.
Despite this, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque answered back with a survey from Pulse Asia which shows that an overwhelming majority of Filipinos are satisfied with the government’s handling of the pandemic. However, that survey was done the previous year and statisticians from Singapore are not only just as competent as their Filipino counterparts but are also independent of the socio-political affairs in the Philippines — something which cannot be assured with local pollsters due to a ‘climate of fear.’
Other supporters of the government disagreed with the survey findings. They claimed that the sample size is too small with only less than a hundred Filipinos being included in the study. Moreover, unlike local pollsters, the Singapore-based survey firm only included respondents from the academe, business or finance, government, civil society groups, the media, and regional and international organizations. Despite this, the survey should stand firm and remain valid especially that the survey firm is a respected research institution in Singapore established more than half a century ago. As a matter of fact, the survey is a testament that more educated persons and professionals tend to thumb down the Philippine government’s COVID-19 response. It also implies that local pollsters must make sure its methodologies accurately capture the pulse of the masses, without fear of favor.
The best thing the Philippine government and its ardent supporters can do is to regain the approval of the masses. To do so, it must look back at the same survey. The same findings found that 72.2% of Filipinos suggest that the government must improve in encouraging more science and health experts to contribute to public policy discussions and to heed their advice. This should not come as a surprise given that the administration appointed military officials — not epidemiologists or doctors or scientists — in key decision-making positions. Hence, it is not a surprise as well that the Philippines recorded hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 cases — the second highest in Southeast Asia and the Far East. And before the government and its supporters comment that what we need is discipline, let me share a study last year which found that 91% of Filipinos always wear face masks outdoors — the second highest just behind Singapore.
Altogether, the survey from a reliable, respected research institution in Singapore should be an eye-opener for the-powers-that-be — that they must listen to critics and experts, whether they like it or not. Only in doing so can they regain the approval and trust of more Filipinos. And to those who read this, let me end with another finding from the same survey. They found that only 0.5% of respondents from all 10 countries in Southeast Asia think that the Philippines is the best country in dealing with the crisis — the lowest score among the 10 countries.