Binay rating hits new low but still top performer

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay’s net satisfaction rating fell to a new low in the last quarter of 2014 amid various corruption allegations thrown against him, but he remained the top performing government official, the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

Binay’s net satisfaction score was downgraded to a “good” +44 (65 percent satisfied, 20 percent dissatisfied) in the last quarter of 2014 from a “very good” +52 (70 percent satisfied, 17 percent dissatisfied) in the third quarter.

Out of 18 surveys fielded by the SWS since September 2010, Binay got “excellent” in eight, “very good” in nine and “good” once, the survey research institute noted.

Plunder charges have been filed against Binay before the Office of the Ombudsman in relation to the allegedly overpriced parking building constructed by the city government of Makati and the Makati Science High School building when he was the city mayor.

The Senate probe on the overpricing of the Makati parking building was initiated based on a resolution filed by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

But Binay’s spokesman for political affairs Rico Paolo Quicho noted that “the result of the recent SWS survey clearly indicates that the Vice President still has the continued trust and full support of the Filipino people despite the intensified campaign of lies and pattern of deceit waged by his political detractors in the Senate to discredit his accomplishments and track record as a proven public servant.”

Quicho also said the Vice President is grateful that the people still judge him by his work despite the corruption allegations him.

“The Vice President hopes that the misinformation being peddled against him that affects public perception will soon end with a majority of the Filipino people realizing that surmises and conjectures cannot be the substitute for the truth,” Quicho said.

“The Vice President remains firm that the allegations being hurled against him are baseless and bereft of any merit, which would not stand in an impartial and fair judicial scrutiny,” he added.

‘Binay, worry about jail time’

For Trillanes, the continued decline of the satisfaction ratings of Binay should be the least of Binay’s worries right now as the Vice President should be more concerned about the outcome of the investigation being conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman on the cases that have been filed against him.

“He should be more worried about the jail time he would probably face once the ombudsman wraps up its investigation,” Trillanes added.

Meanwhile, SWS president Mahar Mangahas said Binay’s satisfaction rating is still good, noting that both President Aquino and Binay have longer “honeymoon periods” compared to previous top leaders.

“For all officials, there is a honeymoon at the beginning and then it tends to go down. Vice President Binay, just like P-Noy, has longer honeymoon period. It did not fall so quickly since this is already the fifth year,” Mangahas said in an interview with ANC.

Ratings of officials, institutions fall

Satisfaction with the performance of Senate President Franklin Drilon and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. also dropped in the fourth quarter, while Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s public satisfaction “barely moved” in the new SWS poll.

Drilon’s net score fell by eight points to a “moderate” +28 (53 percent satisfied, 25 percent dissatisfied), from a “good” +36 (58 percent satisfied, 23 percent dissatisfied) in September last year.

Belmonte’s score was down by two points to +11 (36 percent satisfied, 25 percent dissatisfied) from +13 (40 percent satisfied, 27 percent dissatisfied), although still at a “moderate” category.

Sereno’s ratings remained at a “moderate” +11 (36 percent satisfied, 26 percent dissatisfied) from +10 (37 percent satisfied, 27 percent dissatisfied).

The same survey showed satisfaction with key government institutions also fell in the last quarter of 2014.

Satisfaction with the Senate dropped to a “moderate” +26 (53 percent satisfied, 27 percent dissatisfied) in December from a “moderate” +28 (53 percent satisfied, 26 percent dissatisfied) in September.

The House of Representatives’ net score declined by a point to a “moderate” +20 (45 percent satisfied, 25 percent dissatisfied) from +21 (45 percent satisfied, 24 percent dissatisfied) in the third quarter.

The Supreme Court’s net satisfaction rating fell by six points to a “moderate” +26 (50 percent satisfied, 24 percent dissatisfied), from a “good” +32 (54 percent satisfied, 22 percent dissatisfied) previously.

The Cabinet experienced a significant drop, falling one grade to a “neutral” +9 (37 percent satisfied, 29 percent dissatisfied), from a “moderate” +18 (43 percent satisfied, 26 percent dissatisfied), the SWS said.

SWS classifies net satisfaction ratings of +70 and above as “excellent”; +50 to +69 as “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 as “execrable.”

The SWS poll was conducted from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1 last year, using face-to-face interviews of 1,800 adults nationwide.

Results of the SWS survey were published in the newspaper BusinessWorld yesterday.                – With Marvin Sy