2015 SONA Mood Meter: Not as happy, not as angry

Gemma B. Mendoza

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2015 SONA Mood Meter: Not as happy, not as angry
'Happy' dominated mood votes at 50 % of total votes. The second most dominant mood is 'angry' at 16 % of votes, followed by 'inspired' at 12.41 % of total votes.

MANILA, Philippines – As in the previous 2 years, Rappler tracked how the public felt about President Benigno Aquino III’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) minute-by-minute through the SONA Mood Meter.

Aggregate results of the mood votes for the 2015 SONA show that as in previous years, people were mostly happy with the President’s speech. Mood votes factored in this analysis were those tracked by the Rappler SONA Mood Meter from the time Aquino began speaking at around 4 pm on Monday, July 27, until 12 noon of July 28. 

Happy dominated mood votes at 50 % of total votes. After happy, the second most dominant mood is angry at 16 % of votes, followed by inspired at 12.41 % of total votes.

 

Compared to last year, people are slightly less happy this year with what the President said in his more than 2-hour speech. You can compare moods by percentage for the past 3 years through the bar graph below: 

Less happy, less angry

Happy votes have been dropping as a percentage of total mood votes since Rappler started tracking the SONA moods in July 2013 .

From 65% in 2013, happy votes dropped to 53 % in 2014 and further down to 50 % in 2015.

 

Angry votes also shrank this year both in absolute number of votes and as a percentage of total votes. It is at 16.09% this year (2015) from 25.50 % in 2014.

This might be partly because half a year after 44 police commandos were slaughtered in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, the President chose not to mention what is considered the bloodiest one-day operation in the history of the Philippine police. (READ: No mention of Mamasapano, SAF 44 in Aquino’s last SONA)

The Mamasapano carnage, which happened on January 25, 2015, angered so many Filipinos that it delayed the passage of the Bangsamoro basic law.

In contrast, in his 2014 SONA, Aquino devoted time defending his administration’s response to its worst crisis at the time – Super Typhoon Yolanda. (READ: Mood Meter: Angrier with Aquino SONA in 2014)

 

The topics that got the most angry votes in 2015 were Aquino’s statements about the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, references to MRT woes where he absolved Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, his predecessor’s sins, the Bangsamoro basic law, and the point which highlighted the fact that the President did not mention Mamasapano in his address.

Biggest change: more people inspired

The biggest change, the number of inspired votes, more than doubled in terms of percentage of total votes this year.

After inspired, the next biggest change in SONA moods in terms of percentage of totals is don’t care, which increased by 63% this year (2015) compared to 2014.

The items that got the most happy votes were the President’s statements on his administration’s accomplishments in the health sector, alternative learning, and jobs, and his push for the anti-dynasty law, 

Health and alternative learning also got the most number of inspired votes, along with the Bangsamoro basic law, jobs and his statement on Daang Matuwid.

People were most annoyed by statements the President made that continued to blame his predecessor for problems faced by the government as well as his statement absolving Secretary Abaya of any responsibility for the problems plaguing the MRT.

When people voted

Votes summarized here were based on votes on individual mood meters in the SONA Highlights section of the SONA 2015 Microsite. The graph below shows when most of the votes considered got inputted. 

2015 SONA Moods: votes per hour | Create infographics

As in 2014, Rappler published highlights of the President’s speech real time as he delivered the SONA. People were allowed to vote for how they feel about each highlight. You can read each highlight and view related video on the SONA 2015 microsite– with reports from Michael Bueza/Rappler.com

 

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Gemma B. Mendoza

Gemma Mendoza leads Rappler’s multi-pronged efforts to address disinformation in digital media, harnessing big data research, fact-checking, and community workshops. As one of Rappler's pioneers who launched its Facebook page Move.PH in 2011, Gemma initiated strategic projects that connect journalism and data with citizen action, particularly in relation to elections, disasters, and other social concerns.