Concern over Dutertre’s health rises in SWS poll

A SURVEY by the Social Weather Stations conducted in the fourth quarter last year found 66% of Filipino adults saying they are worried (22% worried a great deal and 44% somewhat worried) and 34% saying they are not worried (16% are somewhat not worried and 18% are not worried at all) about President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s health.
The Fourth Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey, conducted from December 16-19, showed public concern over Mr. Duterte’s health rise by 11 points from 55% (18% worried a great deal and 38% somewhat worried, correctly rounded), while those not worried fell by 10 points from 44% (22% are not too worried and 23% are not worried at all, correctly rounded).
The noncommissioned survey also found that 49% believe (17% strongly believe and 32% somewhat believe), and 24% do not believe (11% somewhat not believe and 13% strongly not believe), Mr. Duterte has health problems. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are undecided about the matter. This gives a net belief score of +25 (% believe minus % not believe), 6 points above the net +19 (45% believe, 26% do not believe) in September 2018, the polling group said.
The survey also found higher public satisfaction with Mr. Duterte among those worried about his health. “Net satisfaction (% satisfied minus % dissatisfied) with the performance of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte was higher at an excellent+71 among those worried about his health (up from the very good +68 in September), compared to the good +37 among those not worried about it (up from the good +36 in September),” SWS said.
“The 11-point rise in the overall proportion of those worried (% worried a great deal and % somewhat worried) about Pres. Duterte’s health from September 2018 to December 2018 was due to increases in all areas,” the polling group said, adding:
“The proportion of those worried about the President’s health was highest in Mindanao at 73% (up by 12 points from 61% in September 2018), followed by Metro Manila at 66% (up by 7 points from 59%), the Visayas at 66% (up by 15 points from 51%), and Balance Luzon at 63% (up by 10 points from 53%).”
“Net belief (% believe MINUS % not believe) that Pres. Duterte has health problems was highest in Metro Manila at +31 (same as +31 in September), followed by Balance Luzon at +28 (up from +21 in September), the Visayas at +26 (up from +14 in September), and Mindanao at +14 (up from +12 in September).”
It was higher in overall urban areas at +29 (same as +29 in September), compared to overall rural areas at +22 (up from +12 in September) [Chart 10].
It was highest in class ABC at +31 (up from +19 in September), followed by class E at +27 (up from +8 in September), and class D at +24 (up from +21 in September) [Chart 11].
The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,440 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 360 each in Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao (sampling error margins of ±2.6% for national percentages, and ±5% each for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao).