PNoy’s government the best among five administrations, SWS finds

MANILA, Philippines — The performance of the government of former President Benigno Aquino III was the best among the last five administrations, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) 2017 survey review found.

The review is a summary of all surveys conducted by the pollster in 2016.

Among the five administrations since the restoration of democracy in 1986, the SWS found that Aquino, whose term was from 2010 to 2016, had a “good” satisfaction rating in terms of his performance as president. His average satisfaction rating is at +47.

Aquino’s “good” satisfaction rating is a big turnaround from the performance of Gloria Arroyo, his predecessor. She received a -2 “neutral” rating.

Joseph Estrada (1998-2001), who was pardoned from a plunder conviction, got a “moderate” +15 rating. Fidel Ramos (1992-1998) received a “moderate” +14 rating while Corazon Aquino (1986-1992) was rated “neutral” at 5 percent.

The performance of the past presidents was also rated in terms of several issues. The younger Aquino performed best in helping the poor (+46) and in foreign relations (+43). Both these ratings are described by SWS as “good.”

In other areas, he received +2 (neutral) for fighting inflation, +15 (moderate) for eradicating graft and corruption and +20 (moderate) for fighting crime.

The younger Aquino's ratings are in complete contrast to what the Arroyo administration got. For instance, the Office of the President was rated “very bad” during the time of Arroyo, but this bounced back when Aquino was in power, according to SWS President Mahar Mangahas.

The performance of government departments in fighting corruption was also assessed by SWS in the survey. The Securities and Exchange Commission had a “very good” rating in fighting corruption, the best among the government agencies during Aquino's term.

The following agencies and departments got “good” ratings during his term: Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Education, Social Security System, Supreme Court and the Office of the Ombudsman.

The Commission on Audit, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Sandiganbayan, Government Service Insurance System, Armed Forces of the Philippines and Department of Justice received “moderate” ratings during Aquino's term.

The Senate, Presidential Commission on Good Governance, Department of Finance, Department of Agriculture and Department of Interior and Local Government got “neutral” ratings.

The House of Representatives and the Philippine National Police were rated as “poor” in terms of fighting corruption as well as the Department of Public Works and Highways, Bureau of Internal Revenue and Department of Transportation.

The two worst rated agencies in 2016 were the Land Transportation Office (“bad”) and the Bureau of Customs (“very bad”).