7 of 10 satisfied with Binay - SWS

MANILA, Philippines - Seven in 10 Filipinos are satisfied with the performance of Vice President Jejomar Binay, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) said in its latest survey.

The SWS said 70 percent of 1,200 Filipino adults expressed satisfaction over Binay’s performance while only 12 percent were dissatisfied, for a net score of 58.

Binay’s “very good” net satisfaction rating was higher than former vice president Noli de Castro who scored a “moderate” rating of 22 in May 2005.

Former vice president Teofisto Guingona Jr. also scored a “moderate” +19 in March 2001, and the late Salvador Laurel scored a “good” rating at +44 in October 1986.

Binay’s net satisfaction rating, however, is lower compared to his predecessors Joseph Estrada who scored an “excellent” +78 in September 1992 and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who also scored excellent at +73 in September 1998.

Binay, for his part, said the very good satisfaction rating he received is encouraging.

“The results of the SWS survey encourage me to work harder in helping our people fulfill their dream of owning their own homes and having a better life. It also inspires me to persevere in promoting the rights and welfare of our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers). I am grateful and humbled by the people’s support,” he said.

President Aquino has appointed Binay as presidential adviser for OFWs and chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC).

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., meanwhile, received a neutral +9 rating at 34 percent satisfaction rating and 25 percent dissatisfied.

Belmonte’s score was better than his predecessors Prospero Nograles with a poor -12 in March 2008, and Arnulfo Fuentebella with a “neutral” -4 net rating in December 2000.

Belmonte’s net satisfaction rating was lower than Manuel Villar Jr., who scored a “moderate” +22 in September 1998.

Former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. also scored “good” at +39 in August 1992 and a moderate score of +16 in September 2001. The late Ramon Mitra Jr. started out with a good score of +33 in February 1990.

On the other hand, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s net satisfaction rating slightly declined from +41 in June to +39 in September.

Chief Justice Renato Corona’s net score, meanwhile, improved from a poor -18 in June to a neutral -5.

The same survey also showed an increase in public satisfaction with top state institutions in the past three months.

Public satisfaction with the Cabinet as a whole increased the most to a moderate +22 from -7 in March, the SWS said.

“The net satisfaction rating of the Cabinet had been neutral or poor since August 2005,” the pollster said.

The Supreme Court improved to a good +33 from a neutral +9, while the Senate and House of Representatives gained to good scores of +48 and +30, respectively, from a moderate +25 and neutral of +7.

The SWS survey, conducted from Sept. 24 to 27, used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 respondents nationwide.

Sampling error margins of plus or minus three percentage points for national and plus or minus six percentage points for area percentages were applied in the survey. With Jose Rodel Clapano