Speaker gets lowest satisfaction rating since 1990

MANILA, Philippines – Speaker Prospero Nograles continued to receive a low satisfaction rating among top government officials, excluding President Arroyo, a recent survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed yesterday.

The First Quarter 2009 Social Weather Survey, fielded from Feb. 20 to 23, found 45 percent dissatisfied and only 23 percent satisfied with the performance of Nograles for a net rating of -22, down by five points from “poor” -17 in the previous quarter.

“This is the lowest rating yet for Speakers of the House of Representatives since 1990,” the SWS said.

But Nograles took the results of the latest SWS survey in stride.

“I’m sorry but the position I hold is not based on my popularity or based on survey satisfaction. Popularity is not one of the job descriptions of the Speaker of the House. There are many instances that I need to take unpopular positions,” Nograles said.

“That’s part of my job. I have to bite the bullet if I believe it’s in the best interest of our people even if it’s unpopular,” he added.

Meanwhile, the non-commissioned survey also showed a majority of Filipinos satisfied with the performance of Vice President Noli de Castro (60 percent satisfied and 24 percent dissatisfied) for a net rating of “good” +36.

De Castro’s new satisfaction rating is similar to “good” +39 in December 2008, the SWS said.

“His net performance rating has been +30 and above since June 2006,” the survey firm said.

Aside from De Castro, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Chief Justice Reynato Puno also received positive net satisfaction ratings of +8 and +3, respectively.

The survey showed that 41 percent of the respondents are satisfied and 34 percent are dissatisfied with Enrile, while 38 percent are satisfied and 35 percent are dissatisfied with Puno.

Enrile’s net satisfaction rating remained neutral at +8 in February from +5 in the previous quarter, the SWS said.

On the other hand, Puno’s satisfaction rating has remained neutral at +3 in February 2009 from -4 in December 2008. His net performance rating has been consistently neutral for nine consecutive survey rounds.

The February 2009 survey also showed that half or 50 percent of adult Filipinos are satisfied and 27 percent are dissatisfied with the performance of the Senate, or a “moderate” net of +23. This is similar to moderate +26 in December 2008, the SWS said.

The survey showed 35 percent satisfied and 34 percent dissatisfied with the House of Representatives, for a neutral net satisfaction rating of +2, correctly rounded, down by seven points from neutral +9 in the previous quarter.

It found 39 percent satisfied and 35 percent dissatisfied with the performance of the Supreme Court, or a neutral +4, down by four points from neutral +8 in December 2008.

The survey also found 31 percent satisfied and 39 percent dissatisfied with the Cabinet as a whole, or a neutral -7, down by six points from neutral -1 in the previous quarter.

The SWS describes net satisfaction ratings of +50 and above as “very good,” +30 to +49 as “good,” +10 to +29 “moderate,” -9 to +9 “neutral,” -20 to -10 “poor,” -49 to -30 “bad,” and -50 or lower “very bad.”

The SWS used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

It has sampling error margins of plus or minus 2.5 percent for national percentages and plus or minus six percent for area percentages.–Helen Flores, Philippine Star