Ratings of top gov’t execs dip – SWS

MANILA, Philippines - Satisfaction with the performance of top government officials in the line of succession to the presidency dropped in the last quarter of 2012, according to a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.

However, the net scores of Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. remained “excellent,” according to the SWS poll taken from Dec. 8 to 11 last year.

Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, who was included in the survey for the first time, also obtained a positive rating.

 The survey, which used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide, was published in BusinessWorld yesterday.

 Binay suffered a six-point decline in his net score from 76 (82 percent satisfied, six percent dissatisfied) in August to 70 (79 percent satisfied, nine percent dissatisfied) in December. The Vice President’s rating, however, remained “excellent,” according to the SWS.

Enrile’s score also dropped by 18 points to a “good” 47 (63 percent satisfied, 16 percent dissatisfied) from a “very good” 65 (73 percent satisfied, eight percent dissatisfied).

The SWS recorded a 6-point drop in the net score of Belmonte from 20 (40 percent satisfied, 20 percent dissatisfied) to 15 (37 percent satisfied, 23 percent dissatisfied). Both scores are classified as “moderate.”

Sereno, meanwhile, scored a “moderate” 14 (32 percent satisfied, 18 percent dissatisfied), higher than the “neutral” 3 achieved by acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio in August.

It was also higher than the -44 (bad) rating obtained by former chief justice Renato Corona during his impeachment last May.

The SWS classifies net satisfaction ratings of 70 and above as 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 latest SWS poll also showed a drop in the satisfaction rating of key government institutions.

Satisfaction with the Senate, which hit an all-time high of 67 (74 percent satisfied, seven percent dissatisfied) fell to 51 (65 percent satisfied, 14 percent dissatisfied). The score, however, remained “very good.”

The House of Representatives, meanwhile, received a net score of 31 (50 percent satisfied, 20 percent dissatisfied) from an all-time high of 42 (55 percent satisfied, 14 percent dissatisfied). The House’s score remained “good.”

The Cabinet’s rating likewise fell to 26 (45 percent satisfied, 19 percent dissatisfied) from 33 (50 percent satisfied, 17 percent dissatisfied). It stayed in “moderate” category.

The Supreme Court’s score, on the other hand, was up by a point to a “moderate” 36 (55 percent satisfied, 18 percent dissatisfied, from 35 (52 percent satisfied, 17 percent dissatisfied).

The SWS earlier reported that President Aquino’s net satisfaction rating fell by 12 points from 67 (77 percent satisfied, 10 percent dissatisfied) to 55 (72 percent satisfied, 17 percent dissatisfied) in the same survey. His score, however, remained “very good.”

The survey used sampling error margins of plus or minus three percentage points for national and plus or minus six percentage points for area percentages.