Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte Achieves ‘Very Good’ Approval Rating Amid Drug-Related Killings

An opinion poll showed Thursday that most Filipinos were satisfied with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte during his first 90 days in office. The 71-year-old, however, has been on the receiving end of global criticism in the light of his brutal war against drugs that has claimed at least 2,448 lives so far.

The poll conducted by Social Weather Stations, a private, nonprofit social research institution in the Philippines, from Sept. 24 to Sept. 27 showed that only 11 percent of the 1,200 adults surveyed nationwide were dissatisfied with Duterte’s performance and 13 percent were undecided. The data was collected using face-to-face interviews.

Duterte achieved a net satisfaction rating of 64 percent faring better than his predecessors Benigno Aquino, Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He is, however, shy of the 66 percent approval rating achieved by former president Fidel Ramos in 1992.

Reports said that those surveyed from the southern Philippine region of Mindanao where Duterte comes from, gave him the highest rating of 88 percent with just 4 percent saying they were unsatisfied with his performance. The poll labels a net approval rating of 70 percent and above as “excellent” and a rating between 50 and 69 percent as “very good.”

Duterte’s war on drugs has been heavily criticized by several world leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama and organizations like the United Nations. The controversial president said Sept. 30 that he would be “happy to slaughter” the Philippines’ drug users like Nazi leader Adolf Hitler killed millions of Jews.

Duterte said that public killings, part of his war on drugs, are to discourage people from trying drugs. When he was sworn into office on June 30, he vowed to follow up on campaign threats to kill tens of thousands of criminals and any police personnel involved in criminal activities.

Duterte has also insulted several world leaders and international organizations including the U.N., the European Union, the Pope and Obama over their criticism of his war on drugs.