MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE2, 3:49 PM) With the year drawing to an end, public satisfaction with Vice President Leni Robredo remained “good” while Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III scored a new personal high, the latest survey of polling firm Social Weather Stations showed.
(VIEW THE FULL RESULTS OF THE SWS SURVEY HERE: https://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20171227144214&mc_cid=049631582c&mc_eid=5f711120c4)
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s rating, on the other hand, bounced back to “moderate” in the Fourth Quarter 2017 Social Weather Survey, while Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno’s remained “neutral.”
The non-commissioned survey was conducted from December 8 to 16 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide. It has sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Robredo’s +42 rating (63% satisfied minus 21% dissatisfied) was up one point from September 2017 and was attributed to “a 16-point increase in Mindanao, offset by a steady score in Balance Luzon, and decreases of eight points in Metro Manila and five points in the Visayas.”
PIMENTEL THANKS PEOPLE FOR TRUST
Reacting to the survey results, Senate President Pimentel III on Thursday thanked the Filipino people for their continued trust in his leadership of the Senate.
“I am grateful for the continued confidence shown in me by the Filipino people. My wish is that my colleagues in the Senate and I can keep their trust in 2018 as we work harder to improve the quality of life for all,” said Pimentel.
The SWS survey was conducted from December 8 to 16, 2017, a week which saw the passage of the budget, the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion bill, and the joint resolution for the increase of base pay for military and uniformed personnel in the Senate.
Pimentel said, “Come January 2018, we will work on the Anti-Terrorism Law, a law creating the National ID system, a law providing Universal Health Care, the Bangsamoro Basic Law, and a measure that would convene Congress as a Constitutional Assembly and pave the way for the shift to Federalism.”
Pimentel’s record +49 net satisfaction rating (62% satisfied minus 13% dissatisfied) was up three points from his previous personal best of +46 in September and “was due to increases of 16 points in Mindanao, five points in Metro Manila, and five points in the Visayas, combined with a six-point decrease in Balance Luzon.”
Alvarez’s +14 rating (38% satisfied minus 23% dissatisfied), on the other hand, “rose by one grade from neutral to moderate” and was an increase of six points from his personal record-low of +8 in September 2017, which was an eight-point decline from +16 in June.
On the other hand, December’s +6 rating (34% satisfied minus 28% dissatisfied) for Sereno, who is undergoing impeachment in the House of Representatives, was “her lowest net satisfaction rating score since the neutral -1 in December 2015,” and was down three points from September’s +9.
SWS attributed this to declines of seven points in Metro Manila, fou points in Mindanao, and two points in the Visayas, combined with a steady score in Balance Luzon.
‘SMEAR DRIVE HAD NO IMPACT’ – SERENO LAWYERS
Still, spokespersons-lawyers for Sereno saw the survey results in a positive light. The spokespersons for Chief Justice Sereno, meanwhile, pointed out how “a well-orchestrated campaign to malign her and soil her integrity through baseless and malicious allegations” failed to dent Sereno’s net satisfaction rating, as it has stayed “neutral” and relatively unscathed.
In a statement, Atty. Josa Deinla, one of the spokespersons, said” “The Chief Justice looks forward to be able to fully address all the issues raised in the impeachment complaint when her fundamental rights, including her right to counsel and to cross examine through her counsel of choice, will be respected.”
The Chief Justice, she added, “continues to dispense her duties according to her sworn oath and the Constitution.
Respondents were asked:
“Maaari po bang pakisabi ninyo kung gaano kayo nasisiyahan o hindi nasisiyahan sa pagganap ng tungkulin ni [NAME] bilang [POSITION]. Kayo ba ay lubos na nasisiyahan, medyo nasisiyahan, hindi tiyak kung nasisiyahan o hindi, medyo hindi nasisiyahan, lubos na hindi nasisiyahan, o wala pa kayong narinig o nabasa kahit na kailan tungkol kay [NAME]?” [“Please tell me how satisfied or dissatisfied you are with the performance of [NAME] as [POSITION]. Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, undecided if satisfied or dissatisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, very dissatisfied, or you have not ever heard or read anything about [NAME]?”].
- Leni Robredo, Bise-Presidente ng Pilipinas (Vice-President of the Philippines)
- Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Pangulo ng Senado (Senate President)
- Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez, Ispiker ng Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan (Speaker of the House of Representatives).
- Lourdes Sereno, Punong Hustisya ng Korte Suprema (Chief Justice of the Supreme Court)