SWS survey: Respondents most dissatisfied with Nograles

MANILA, Philippines - House Speaker Prospero Nograles has received the lowest satisfaction rating among top officials of the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of government, excluding President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released Monday showed. The SWS first-quarter survey that was conducted from February 20 to 23, showed that 45 percent of the respondents were dissatisfied with Nograles, and only 23 percent showed satisfaction with his performance. Dissatisfaction for Nograles has worsened to a poor net rating of -22, down by 5 points from -17 in the 2008 last-quarter survey. The SWS said this is the lowest rating for Speakers of the House of Representatives since 1990. On the other hand, Vice President Noli de Castro, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Chief Justice Reynato Puno all got positive satisfaction ratings. Sixty percent of the respondents were satisfied with De Castro’s performance, while 24 percent were dissatisfied. The SWS said De Castro's latest net satisfaction rating of good +36 is similar to good +39 in December 2008. His net performance rating has been +30 and above since June 2006. Enrile received 41 percent satisfaction grade and 34 percent dissatisfaction grade, which put his ratings at a neutral +8 from +5 in the previous quarter. Puno's satisfaction rating has remained neutral at +3 in February 2009 with 38 percent satisfaction grade and 35 percent dissatisfaction grade, from -4 in December 2008. His net performance rating has been consistently neutral for nine consecutive survey rounds. The survey also showed that 50 percent of the respondents are satisfied with the performance of the Senate and 27 percent expressed dissatisfaction, which translates to a moderate net +23 rating, which is similar to moderate +26 in December 2008. Meanwhile, 35 percent of the respondents were satisfied with House of Representatives and 34 percent voted otherwise, bringing to neutral its net satisfaction rating at +2, down by seven points from neutral +9 in the previous quarter. The survey found 39 percent of the respondents were satisfied of the performance of the Supreme Court and 35 percent dissatisfied or a neutral +4, four points down from neutral +8 in December 2008. It also showed 31 percent were satisfied and 39 percent dissatisfied with the Cabinet performance as a whole, or a neutral -7, down by six points from neutral -1 in the previous quarter. The poll firm used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The area estimates were weighted by National Statistics Office medium-population projections for 2009 to obtain the national estimates. The SWS said its quarterly survey on public satisfaction with the Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and top government institutions are not commissioned, but are done on SWS' own initiative and results of the studies are released as a public service. - Amita O. Legaspi, GMANews.TV