More than three quarters of Philippines residents are satisfied with President Rodrigo Duterte’s performance in his first 90 days in office, which has been largely defined by his continued crackdown on drug dealers and outbursts directed towards Western leaders.
According to the poll conducted by the Social Weather Station (SWS) agency, 76 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with Duterte’s presidency so far, while only 11 percent said they were dissatisfied. Thirteen percent said they were undecided.
That gives Duterte a satisfaction rating of “very good,” according to the formula used by SWS. The rating is determined by subtracting the percentage of dissatisfied respondents from the satisfied, and then rounding it off.
According to SWS, an approval rating between 50 and 69 percent is “very good,” while an approval rating over 70 is seen as “excellent.” Duterte’s net rating was 64 percent.
Duterte won the presidential election earlier this year largely based on his promise to continue aggressively targeting drug dealers and criminals.
Philippine police and vigilantes have killed at least 3,600 people for drug use and drug sales since Duterte took office at the end of June.
The poll of 1,200 people took place between September 24 and 27, just weeks after Duterte launched into a profanity-laced tirade against U.S. President Barack Obama over Obama’s comments about Duterte’s drug crackdown.
During a September 5 media address, Duterte called Obama a “son of a whore” and said nobody “has the right to lecture” him about human rights issues.
Duterte has engaged in similar verbal spates against European Union and United Nations leaders.
