Ratings of top govt officials drop – SWS

SATISFACTION ratings of top government officials went down, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey revealed on Wednesday.

The survey results, which were first published in BusinessWorld, showed that unlike the satisfaction rating of President Benigno Aquino 3rd, which rose to “very good” +56 from + 46, the satisfaction ratings of other government officials, including those of Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. declined.

Supre Court Chief Justice Renato Corona’s rating, however, remained the same.

The satisfaction ratings of President Aquino were published on September 26.

The pollster said that Binay’s rating dropped by six points but stayed in the “very good” category.
It added that the Vice President’s rating was down from +69 in June (78 percent satisfied, 9 percent dissatisfied) to +63 (72 percent satisfied minus 9 percent dissatisfied).

The survey said that public satisfaction over the performance of Enrile remained in the “good” category but declined by four points to a net +35 (52 percent satisfied, 18 percent dissatisfied) from June’s +39 (56 percent satisfied, 18 percent dissatisfied).

The SWS, however, noted that Enrile’s ratings had been consistently at good levels since June 2010.
The survey also showed that Belmonte’s ratings dropped by six points to “neutral” +9 (33 percent satisfied and 24 percent dissatisfied), from “moderate” +15 (37 percent satisfied, 22 percent dissatisfied).

It said that for the Chief Justice, his ratings stayed at “neutral” zero (28 percent satisfied and 28 percent dissatisfied), compared to the previous 27 percent dissatisfied and 27 percent satisfied.

Meanwhile, the SWS’ current poll results were a contrast with those of Pulse Asia conducted from August 20 to September 2, 2011, which showed higher approval ratings for Binay, two points; Enrile, eight points; Belmonte, six points; and Corona, nine points.

Government institutions
Moreover, the SWS said that the current survey recorded little changes in the net satisfaction ratings of state institutions.

It added that the Senate’s rating increased by three points to a “very good” +50 (63 percent satisfied, 14 percent dissatisfied) from June’s “good” +47 (64 percent satisfied, 16 percent dissatisfied).

The SWS said that the House of Representatives’ satisfaction rating remained at a “good” net level of +31 (49 percent satisfied, 19 percent dissatisfied).

The survey also showed that the Supreme Court recorded a three-point gain to +29 (49 percent satisfied, 20 percent dissatisfied), but still “moderate” from June’s +26 (50 percent satisfied, 24 percent dissatisfied).

The SWS said that the scores for the Cabinet as a whole also stayed at “moderate” +24 (44 percent satisfied, 20 percent dissatisfied), compared to the previous +25 (45 percent satisfied, 21 percent dissatisfied).

Net satisfaction scores of +70 and above were “excellent”; +50 to +69, “very good”; +30 to +49, “good”; +10 to +29, “moderate”, +9 to -9, “neutral”; -10 to -29, “poor”; -30 to -49, “bad”; -50 to -69, “very bad”; and -70 and below, “execrable.”

The SWS survey, which was conducted on September 4 to 7, 2011, used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, and had margins of error of plus or minus 3 percent for national percentages and plus or minus 6 percent for area percentages.

The agency said that its latest survey was non-commissioned and was conducted on SWS’ own initiative.

Binay said also on Wednesday that the results of the latest SWS survey on his satisfaction rating is a “challenge” for him to work harder.

In a statement, he also noted that the survey only showed that the people have high expectations from government officials.

“I have always said that all survey results encourage and challenge me to work harder to meet the people’s expectations,” the Vice President said.

Binay is also the country’s housing czar and the top government adviser on overseas Filipino workers’ concerns. –Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz, Reporter with report from Bernice Camille V. Bauzon, Manila Times