MANILA, Philippines – The rising prices of goods is the number one issue that Filipinos want President Marcos Jr. to discuss in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), as three in every four respondents asked by pollster Pulse Asia Research, Incorporated thumbed down his administration’s performance in arresting inflation.

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Based on the June survey of the research firm, 76% of Filipinos disapproved of how the government handled inflation, a 5-percentage point increase from March. Only 5% of respondents gave their approval, while 19% were undecided.

It is the only concern that majority of Filipinos – 57% to be exact – want to hear from the President when he delivers his SONA on July 22.

It is also the issue that 72% of Filipinos find the most urgent, outshining other concerns that hogged the headlines in the first half of the year such as defending the country’s territories (5%), and charter change (1%).

As of June, average inflation year-to-date is 3.5%, which is within the government’s 2% to 4% target, but the uptick in food prices remains a concern.

Gut issues on top of the list

Pulse Asia also noted three other issues in which public disapproval has become more pronounced since March: increasing workers’ pay (up by 5 percentage points), creating more jobs (up by 8 percentage points), and reducing poverty (up by 9 percentage points).

These three concerns, other than inflation, make up the top four slots in the list of most urgent national concerns.

Respondents said they also want to see the President mention in his SONA government’s efforts to improve the economy (36%) and generate jobs (35%).

Other issues that they expect to be highlighted in the SONA include actions to stop the incursion of other countries in the West Philippine Sea (31%), anti-graft and corruption initiatives (26%), efforts to increase the pay of workers (24%), campaign against illegal drugs (21%), actions to improve the educational system (18%), and peace efforts (18%).

On the positive side, the government gets the most brownie points for its efforts to protect the welfare of migrant Filipinos (70% approval), initiatives to address the needs of calamity-stricken areas (64%), and efforts to defend Philippine territories against foreign powers (48%).

The survey, with a margin of error of ± 2%, was conducted from June 17 to 24 among 2,400 adult respondents, and was released on Friday, July 12.

Check the full findings below.

– Rappler.com