House leaders elated over Speaker Cayetano’s historic high approval, trust ratings 

MANILA, Philippines – Leaders of the House of Representatives from different political parties have hailed the historic high approval and trust ratings of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano in the latest Pulse Asia survey released over the weekend, calling the poll results a sign of renewed public confidence in Congress and its capability to deliver on its goal of improving the lives of the Filipino people.

Deputy Speaker and Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali Gonzales II of PDP-Laban said Cayetano “has not only made history with his high ratings, but has continued to fulfill his promise of restoring the positive image of the House under his competent leadership.”

“As the Speaker, has been repeatedly saying: You reap what you sow. The people have seen how his leadership has made the House more productive, more responsible and more relevant,” Gonzales said.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey conducted between December 3 and 8, Cayetano emerged as the third most trusted official in the government, garnering a trust rating of 76 percent during that period, or an increase of 14 percentage points from his 62 percent rating in September.

President Duterte as the most trusted official got 83 percent, followed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III with 78 percent.

Vice President Leni Robredo garnered a 53 percent trust rating in the December Pulse Asia survey.

Cayetano’s performance rating also soared to 80 percent from 64 percent in the September survey.

The House of Representatives also improved on its September performance rating of 60 percent, with a 66 percent rating in December.

Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte of the Nacionalista Party said Cayetano’s work ethic in the House, complemented by his strong anti-corruption stance has not gone unnoticed by the public.

“A hard-working Speaker is how Speaker Alan is seen by the public. They don’t have to personally witness him working on weekends, and at times, even beyond midnight to whip the House into becoming a prolific chamber of Congress. They just have to read about the important pieces of legislation that we have approved in record time, including the President’s priority measures such as the increase in sin taxes to help fund the Universal Health Care Program, and the second wave of the Salary Standardization Law, as well as the 2020 national budget, among a few,” said Villafuerte who represents Camarines Sur’s 2nd district.

Cavite 4th District Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, who is also president of the National Unity Party (NUP) said that he sees “no need to change the leadership in this chamber come July next year with the way Cayetano has been riding high as Speaker of the House.”

“As I have said before when the Speaker first clinched his high trust and approval ratings in September, which was even better than the Vice President’s and continues to be better, I don’t see the need to change horses in midstream. If he is performing exceedingly well, why do we need to replace him? We might as well retain him as our Speaker for three years until June 30, 2022,” Barzaga pointed out.

ANAKALUSUGAN Rep. Michaeel Defensor, a stalwart of the party-list coalition in the House, agreed with Barzaga, and said he was certain that Cayetano would sustain his exceptional performance as Speaker.

“As far as I can remember, this is the first time that the Speaker of the House emerged as one of the top trusted officials of the country in the surveys conducted by independent polling firms. Aside from that, the House also continues to improve on its performance rating with Speaker Cayetano at the helm,” Defensor said.

“Speaker Cayetano also helps the House as an institution improve its rating when his ratings improve. If we want to continue seeing improvements in the performance ratings of the House, then the logical thing to do is to continue to support Speaker Cayetano as Speaker until 2022,” Defensor said.

/g