Duterte Keeps Majority Approval After South China Sea Issue

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte kept his majority approval rating halfway through his term, according to a survey done after a South China Sea incident that highlighted his stance on Beijing.

Duterte’s approval rating declined to 85% from 87% last quarter, pollster Pulse Asia said Wednesday in e-mailed results of an end-June nationwide survey, adding that the drop was “marginal in nature.”

The survey was done weeks after the June 9 collision involving Philippine and Chinese vessels in disputed waters, which Duterte described as a “maritime incident.” The president’s rating hit a new high in a separate Social Weather Stations survey conducted two weeks after the incident.

China Can Fish in Philippines’ Exclusive Waters, Duterte Says

Vice President Leni Robredo, who visited the fishermen left stranded at sea after the collision, saw a 6-point increase in her approval rating to 55% in June, Pulse Asia said. Senate President Tito Sotto’s rating also rose 12 points to 77% in the same survey.

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