Sotto credits ‘very good’ rating to Senate’s ‘diligent’ work

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Wednesday attributed his “very good” rating in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey to the collective efforts of the upper chamber.

Sotto retained his “very good” rating for the first quarter of 2019 based on the latest SWS ratings.

The Senate President scored a net satisfaction rating of +71 with 61 percent of the survey respondents saying they are satisfied with his performance and only 10 percent saying they are dissatisfied.

Asked if his rating was due to the Senate’s stand against the “pork insertions” allegedly made by the House of Representatives before the signing of the 2019 budget, Sotto said the upper chamber had always been “diligent” even before the issue.

Sotto earlier signed the then proposed P3.7-trillion national budget for 2019 with “strong reservations.” He expressed hopes that Duterte will veto the alleged P75 billion insertions made by the Lower Chamber following the ratification of the budget on February 8.

“Perception is largely because of the diligent work of the Senate. It’s been that way even before the pork issue with the [House of Representatives],” Sotto said in a text message.

Sotto also vowed to continue his performance while acknowledging the efforts of his colleagues at the Senate.

“I will continue to work hard and make sure that the Senate will be productive under my leadership. I also acknowledge the cooperation of my peers that gave the Senate a very good satisfaction rating,” Sotto said.

“Our people deserve nothing less but a higher level of true service,” he added. /ee