SWS: Satisfaction with Senate drops

MANILA, Philippines —  Even before the tumultuous weeks that saw its leadership change twice, the Senate was already dealing with dipping public satisfaction with its performance, results of the first quarter survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.

Results of the March 24 to 31 survey released yesterday showed that only 42 percent of the respondents were satisfied with the Senate, similar to the September 2025 figure but down three points from the most recent poll in November 2025.

Thirty-one percent said they were dissatisfied with the Senate, similar to the one it obtained in November, while 26 percent were undecided, up from 21 percent.

The latest survey results resulted in a net satisfaction rating of +11, classified by SWS as “moderate.” It was down from “moderate” +14 that it obtained in the most recent survey.

The net satisfaction rating is obtained by subtracting those who said they were satisfied from those who were dissatisfied with the performance of a government official or institution.

The survey was conducted before the recent events that plunged the Senate into chaos, which began with the reappearance of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa on May 11 that led to a surprise leadership change.

Dela Rosa, subject of an arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court, is again in hiding, but not before the dramatic scene that involved gunshots unfolded at the Senate on May 13.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano – who lost his majority control following Dela Rosa’s disappearance, the arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and the transfer of Sen. Francis Escudero to the other side – insists that he remains the Senate president.

The other bloc, now with 12 members against Cayetano’s 10, moved to vacate all elected posts during the controversial June 3 session and elected Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president pro-tempore. He also currently serves as acting Senate president.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives maintained its “moderate” +13 net satisfaction, which hardly moved from +14 in November 2025.

It was composed of 42 percent who said they were satisfied with the lower chamber (from 43 percent) and 29 percent who were dissatisfied (from 28 percent).

Twenty-seven percent of the respondents were undecided, up from 24 percent.

The Supreme Court’s net satisfaction ratings, meanwhile, dropped from +17 in November 2025 (45 percent satisfied, 27 percent dissatisfied) to +11 in March 2026 (42 percent satisfied, 30 percent dissatisfied).

The survey on the satisfaction ratings of government institutions is distinct from the poll on their leaders.

The first quarter SWS survey found that 44 percent of the respondents were satisfied with then Senate president Vicente Sotto III. Twenty-eight percent were dissatisfied, while 26 percent were undecided. It was Sotto who was replaced by Cayetano last May 11.

Speaker Faustino Dy III, meanwhile, had a satisfaction rating of 32 percent and dissatisfaction rating of 28 percent. Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo had 35 percent satisfaction rating, and 26 percent of survey respondents said they were dissatisfied with his performance. The survey had 1,500 respondents and a margin of error of plus/minus three percent.

Malacañang, meanwhile, balked at Vice President Sara Duterte’s blaming the Marcos administration for the Senate leadership squabble, saying it was her allies’ “abuse of power” that caused the problem.

Asked to react to the Vice President’s statement, Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said “repeated lies” are “placing the country on a quicksand.”

“While the President is working to fix and to help improve the life of every Filipino, especially now that we are facing a global oil crisis and we also had an earthquake in Mindanao, the Vice President continues to engage in mudslinging and is trying to change the narrative,” Castro said.

Castro said Marcos had nothing to do with the shooting incident at the Senate, which she claimed had the approval of Cayetano, an ally of Duterte. - Alexis Romero