Senate, House, SC suffer declines in trust ratings

By: 10 years ago

The three top government institutions—Senate, House of Representatives and Supreme Court—suffered declines in approval and trust ratings in June, according to the latest survey by Pulse Asia. FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines–The three top government institutions—Senate, House of Representatives and Supreme Court—suffered declines in approval and trust ratings in June, according to the latest survey by Pulse Asia.

None of them scored majority ratings.

The survey also found that the ratings of President Aquino, Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senate President Franklin Drilon, Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte suffered declines.

The survey was conducted from June 24 to July 2 amid the arrests of Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Bong Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada on plunder and graft charges, and the Supreme Court’s decision declaring the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) unconstitutional, among other issues.

It also showed that approval and trust in the Senate dropped across all areas and classes.

Only one third (33 percent) of Filipinos said they approved of the Senate’s performance in June, down 8 points from 41 percent in March.

Disapproval in the Senate’s performance increased by 9 points from 14 percent to 23 percent. Indecision about the Senate’s performance was at 44 percent, from 42 percent in March.

At the same time, trust in the Senate fell 11 points from 42 percent in December last year to 31 percent in June, while distrust in the chamber stayed at 20 percent. Indecision about the Senate’s trustworthiness increased 13 points from 36 percent in December to 49 percent in June.

Only 34 percent of the respondents said they approved of the House of Representatives’ performance, down from 38 percent in March, while 21 percent said they disapproved (up from 15 percent). Indecision about the House performance stayed at 44 percent.

Trust in the House also decreased, by 10 points from 39 percent six months ago to 29 percent, while distrust in it slightly went down from 20 percent to 19 percent. But indecision about the chamber’s trustworthiness rose 13 points from 39 percent to 52 percent.

Approval of the Supreme Court’s performance declined to 49 percent from 53 percent in March. Thirteen percent of the respondents disapproved of its performance (from 12 percent) while 38 percent were undecided (from 35 percent).

Trust in the high court also went down—from 46 percent to 42 percent, while distrust in the tribunal decreased 8 points from 18 percent to 10 percent. However, indecision about the Supreme Court’s trustworthiness increased 12 points from 35 percent to 47 percent.

The survey used face-to-face interviews with 1,200 Filipino adults. It had a margin of error of plus-or-minus three percentage points.

Other issues at the time of the survey included:

— The continued tension between China and the Philippines over disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea.

— President Aquino’s call for the Philippine National Police to swiftly resolve crime incidents after the recent series of killings involving several high-profile individuals.

— The President’s controversial decision to reject the nomination of Nora Aunor as national artist for film.

— The increase in oil prices due to the Iraq crisis.

— The surge in the prices of rice, garlic and other commodities.–Inquirer Research