OCTA: Most Pinoys OK with gov’t projects on infra, dissatisfied with fight vs. poverty

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A majority of adult Filipinos were satisfied with the government’s projects on infrastructure, disaster response, protection of OFWs, and quality education; but were least satisfied in the handling of inflation and reducing poverty, an OCTA Research survey found.

The independent monitoring group’s December 2023 Tugon ng Masa (TNM) nationwide survey showed that the government’s efforts on public infrastructure received an 81 percent rating; disaster response and protecting OFWs both had 77 percent; providing healthcare and quality education both had a 75 percent rating; and improving foreign relations had a 72 percent rating.

However, a majority of adult Filipinos were least satisfied with the national government’s performance in controlling the prices of basic goods or managing inflation with only six percent, and reducing poverty with only 14 percent.

Adult Filipinos were also least satisfied with:

• Creating more jobs (33%)
• Ensuring food security or access to affordable food (34%)
• Reducing hunger (39%)
• Fighting graft and corruption in government (41%)
• Reducing the amount of taxes (46%)
• Helping the poor (48%)

Meanwhile, more adult Filipinos said they were dissatisfied with the national government’s performance in controlling the prices of basic goods or managing inflation with a 75 percent rating; reducing poverty with 46 percent; ensuring food security or access to affordable food with 32 percent; creating more jobs with 31 percent and fighting graft and corruption in government with 26 percent.

The Tugon ng Masa (TNM) nationwide survey was taken from December 10 to 14, 2023 through face-to-face interviews. One thousand two hundred (1200) male and female respondents aged 18 years and above were interviewed for the study.

The survey had a ±3% margin of error at a 95% confidence level.

Further, subnational estimates for the geographic areas covered in the survey have the following margins of error at a 95% confidence level: ±6% for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Satisfaction across areas

OCTA Research noted different government program satisfaction levels in major areas.

The survey found that a higher percentage of adult Filipinos in Balance Luzon were satisfied with the national government’s performance in enforcing the law on all, whether influential or ordinary people (70 percent); stopping the spread of illegal drugs in the country (63 percent); helping the poor (59 percent); reducing hunger (53 percent); and ensuring food security or access to affordable food (46 percent).

Meanwhile, a lower percentage of adult Filipinos in the Visayas were satisfied with the national government’s performance in reducing the amount of taxes (29 percent) and ensuring food security or access to affordable food (15 percent).

A lower percentage in Mindanao were satisfied with the national government’s performance in stopping the spread of illegal drugs (33 percent) and reducing hunger (21 percent).

Satisfaction among socio-economic classes

Among socio-economic classes, the survey found that a higher percentage of those in class ABC were satisfied with the national government’s performance in helping the poor (65 percent), and creating more jobs (51 percent).

Further, a higher percentage of adult Filipinos belonging to Class E were satisfied with the national government’s performance in fighting criminality (68 percent).

Meanwhile, a lower percentage of adult Filipinos belonging to Class E were satisfied with the national government’s performance in helping the poor (34 percent), creating more jobs (20 percent), and reducing hunger (19 percent).

Dissatisfaction in areas, socio-economic classes

The TNM survey showed that a lower percentage of adult Filipinos in NCR were dissatisfied with the national government’s performance in reducing hunger (13 percent) and stopping the spread of illegal drugs in the country (10 percent).

Also, a lower percentage in Balance Luzon were dissatisfied with the national government’s performance in ensuring food security or access to affordable food (17 percent) and stopping the spread of illegal drugs (12 percent).

Among different socio-economic classes, the survey found that a higher percentage of adult Filipinos belonging to Class E were dissatisfied with the national government’s performance in controlling the prices of basic goods or managing inflation (87 percent), reducing hunger (40 percent), and helping the poor (37 percent).

Further, a lower percentage of adult Filipinos belonging to Class ABC were dissatisfied with the national government’s performance in reducing hunger (11 percent) and stopping the spread of illegal drugs in the country (10 percent).

Top, bottom 5 gov’t programs

OCTA Research noted that the five national government programs with the highest satisfaction ratings in the October 2023 Tugon ng Masa (TNM) poll not only retained their top five positions in the December 2023 survey, but all of them had improved numbers:

• providing quality primary and secondary education (+3 percent), providing quality tertiary and technical/vocational education (+4 percent),
• building public infrastructure (+10 percent),
• protecting the welfare of OFWs (+8 percent), and
• providing quality and affordable healthcare (+6 percent).

The five national programs that had the highest dissatisfaction ratings among adult Filipinos based on the latest survey – the “Bottom 5 National Government Programs” – were:

• controlling the prices of basic goods/services or managing inflation (75 percent),
• reducing poverty (46 percent),
• ensuring food security or access to affordable food (32 percent),
• creating more jobs (31 percent), and
• fighting graft and corruption (26 percent).

GMA News Online sought Presidential Communications Office (PCO) chief Cheloy Garafil’s comment on the latest OCTA survey, but she and her office had yet to reply as of posting time. — DVM, GMA Integrated News

This article OCTA: Most Pinoys OK with gov’t projects on infra, dissatisfied with fight vs. poverty was originally published in GMA News Online.