Duterte job-approval rating hits 86% despite drug war criticism

[MANILA] Philippine voters have given President Rodrigo Duterte a job-approval rating of 86 per cent after three months in office, despite international criticism of a deadly drug war that has seen more than 3,000 people killed.

The job-approval rating was the first one conducted by Pulse Asia Research Inc, which conducted the poll from Sept 25 to Oct 1. It separately found that the tough-talking leader's "trust rating" also stood at 86 per cent, down five points from three months ago.

The poll results came after Mr Duterte responded to strident global condemnation of his drug war with a series of tirades, including one in which he threatened to leave the United Nations, and another that prompted US President Barack Obama to cancel their first scheduled meeting.

Mr Duterte also branded UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a fool after he raised the possibility of human-rights violations.

Pulse interviewed 1,200 adults for the poll, which had an error margin of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Mr Duterte received a "very good" net satisfaction rating of plus 64 in a Social Weather Stations' poll conducted in September, while voters gave his drug war a plus 76 rating.

BLOOMBERG