House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (File Photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Update (6:11 pm.)
SASMUAN, PAMPANGA, Philippines — House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has brushed off the recent survey tagging her as the least trusted among the four highest elected national officials in government.
“Those trust ratings are not new to me. Remember I was pilloried very much when I am president?” Arroyo told reporters on the sidelines of her gift-giving event in the coastal barangay of Batang 1st in Sasmuan on Friday.
The Pampanga congresswoman stressed she prefers focusing on her job and that she is no longer a stranger to these kinds of poll results.
“I haven’t done much to overcome that because I just have to do my work. My thrust is to concentrate on my work. I already said it the last time, I am not a stranger to those kinds of ratings,” the former leader of the nation added.
In a Pulse Asia survey conducted from December 14 to 21, 2018, Arroyo got the least approval and trust rating of 27 percent and 21 percent, respectively.
President Rodrigo Duterte was the most trusted, followed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III then Vice President Leni Robredo.
The survey was conducted around the time Sen. Panfilo Lacson alleged that she got P2.4 billion in “pork barrel” funds while House Majority Rolando Andaya Jr. got P1.9 billion. Both denied Lacson’s allegations.
It was also around this time when Andaya accused Budget Sec. Benjamin Diokno of “inserting” some P75-billion infrastructure fund in the proposed 2019 national budget without the knowledge of President Rodrigo Duterte, the DPWH, as well congressmen whose districts would benefit from the programs.
Arroyo consistently ranked lowest in terms of trust and approval ratings in recent polls. In September 2018, the same pollster said Arroyo got “small/no trust” rating of 43 percent, while only 19 percent trust her.
The survey was conducted from Sept. 1 to 7, barely two months after she sealed her return to power on July 23 and ended Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez’s two-year grip on the Speakership post.
The former president’s camp said that she has “always been dispassionate about surveys,” although she considers them a “snapshot of (the) people’s sentiment.”
“After years of attacks and political persecution, the public approval rating of former president and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is on an upswing with the level of distrust diminishing,” her office said in a previous statement.
Former congressman Mikey Arroyo was also present during the gift-giving and lunch in the remote village of around 500 residents. Village Chief Ernesto Baltazar and other barangay officials and residents welcomed the delegates. /kga
READ: Duterte still most trusted Philippine official; Arroyo least trusted – Pulse Asia