Aquino govt gets highest poll ratings since start of term in latest SWS poll

The poll numbers have finally gone back up for the Aquino administration in the latest public satisfaction survey conducted by social research institution Social Weather Stations from Aug. 24 to 27. The survey showed net satisfaction with the government rising from +44 in May—its lowest rating to date—to +62 in August, its highest since it started out with a rating of +64 in September and November 2010. On the SWS survey, a +62 rating is considered “very good,” a +44 “good.” The survey asked 1,200 respondents to rate the administration on a range of issues. The ratings breakdown for the Aquino administration per issue is as follows: Excellent - helping disaster victims (+73) Very good - helping the poor (+59) - promoting the welfare of overseas workers (+54) - foreign relations (+51) - defending the country’s territorial rights (+50) Good - land reform (+45) - transparency (+44) - fighting terrorism (+43) - providing jobs (+43) - fighting crime (+42) - promoting investments (+42) - eradicating graft and corruption (+40) - reconciling with Muslim rebels (+33) - reconciling with Communist rebels (+31) Moderate - ensuring that no family will be hungry (+26) - fighting inflation (+19) - ensuring that oil firms don’t take advantage of oil prices (+13) Neutral - resolving the Maguindanao massacre case with justice (-4) Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that the ratings show “continued and sustained public satisfaction with the Aquino administration,” which affirm support for its programs and initiatives. “More importantly, this is indicative of the success of our reforms to ensure effective and equitable delivery of public services,” she said.  “We take these survey results as a challenge to further improve our capacity to address key issues and to keep government attuned to the needs of our people and the challenges of our times,” Valte added. — BM, GMA News