PRESIDENT Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. finished the year 2023 with enough political surplus to enter the coming year, brimming with hope and optimism that 2024 will be better.

In the 2023 Pulso Ng Pilipino Yearender survey conducted by The Issues and Advocacy Center on Nov. 27 to Dec. 4, 2023, some 1,200 respondents were asked at random on how they view the performance of the President.

The respondents were asked to choose from these five responses – VERY GOOD, GOOD, NOT GOOD, and DON’T KNOW if they are unsure.

Some 52% of the respondents said they viewed the performance of MARCOS to be very good, 28% said it was good for an overall total of 80%.

Marcos will also step into the new year with 75% of Filipinos saying they completely trust the administration.

The survey respondents were equitably distributed nationwide to reflect the number of registered voters in 2022 in all the 16 political subdivisions of the country.

The CENTER disclosed that it employed the most common standard method in data gathering which is the MSAP and the results were cross-checked with a fool-proof system that The CENTER has been using since the 1992 presidential elections.

Meanwhile, many Filipinos still believe that President Marcos will succeed in his campaign promise to bring down the price of rice to P20 per kilo.

About 41% of the respondents interviewed for the PULSO NG PILIPINO Yearender survey said they remain hopeful and continue to trust that the President will make good on his campaign promise.

Further, the survey indicated the good natured character of Filipinos particularly their sense of optimism towards a better life ahead is manifested once again in the survey in which respondents were asked to rate if they believe that 2024 will be better than this year, the same as this year or will not improve.

Forty-two per cent of the respondents believe that the coming year 2024 will present better opportunities and a better life than this year.

Earlier, Marcos said the structural reforms made in 2023 will have a “greater effect” in 2024.

While in Tokyo, Japan, Marcos described 2023 as “the year of structural changes,” noting that the reforms are significant in the country’s recovery from all economic challenges left by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This 2023 was really the year of structural changes,” Marcos said, when asked to assess his performance for 2023 and what the goals of his administration are for the year to come.

“So, those structural changes were necessary because we have to remodel, or re-adjust rather, for example our fiscal policy, even our monetary policy, our spending policy, so that we are slowly moving or not so slowly, so, we’re moving away from the Covid economy,” he added.

Marcos said his administration has changed the structure of the different agencies by finding the “best people” for each of those positions.

Marcos expressed confidence that the government is heading in the “right direction,” adding that it will continue the modernization efforts in 2024.

“We will continue to modernize. The structure in government is somehow obsolete. We will continue to be responsive to the new economy, that we position ourselves properly,” he said.

Asked for his goals and outlook for 2024, Marcos said reform initiatives will be continued to make sure that all Filipinos will feel the effects of the changes his administration has made.

**

For comments, please call or text 09569012811 or email [email protected]