Public dissatisfaction spans nearly all major policy fronts under the Marcos administration, with Filipinos giving failing marks to government performance on price stability, corruption, poverty, and other day-to-day concerns, according to the latest nationwide poll by Pulse Asia.
Data gathered from December 12 to 15 indicate that approval ratings fell short of the halfway mark on 17 of the 18 governance issues presented to respondents. In a dozen of these areas—including those identified by Filipinos as the most pressing national problems—negative assessments outnumbered positive ones.
Price control emerged as the weakest point. Nearly seven in ten respondents expressed dissatisfaction with efforts to rein in inflation, while only a small minority said they approved of how rising prices of basic goods are being handled. Anti-corruption measures followed closely, drawing strong disapproval alongside similarly poor ratings for the campaign against illegal drugs and initiatives aimed at reducing poverty—three areas also cited as top urgent concerns by the public.
Beyond these, several social and economic issues recorded wider disapproval than approval, among them hunger alleviation, tax reduction, crime prevention, wage increases, peace promotion, environmental protection, equal application of the law, and support for small enterprises. Job creation stood out as the lone area where approval and disapproval were evenly split.
Higher approval levels were limited to a small set of issues, with majority backing recorded only for policies affecting overseas Filipino workers. Disaster response, territorial defense, counterterrorism preparedness, and assistance to farmers also received more favorable than unfavorable views, though none reached majority approval.
The same fourth-quarter survey showed that assessments of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. tilted negative overall, with more respondents expressing disapproval than approval of his performance.
The poll was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults nationwide and carries a margin of error of ±2.8 percentage points.
