Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO/Cathy Miranda
MANILA, Philippines–Vice President Jejomar Binay received the biggest drop in performance and trust ratings among the top five national officials according to the latest Pulse Asia poll.
The survey, conducted from Sept. 8 to 15 among 1,200 respondents, showed a 15-point drop (from 81 in June to 66 in September) in the performance approval rating of Binay and another 15-point drop (from 79 to 64) in his trust rating.
It was a substantial movement compared to that of President Benigno Aquino III whose approval rating dipped to 55 last month from 56 in June and whose trust rating increased from 53 to 54.
Binay, however, remains the most trusted top government official according to the poll.
Another official who experienced a substantial drop was Senate President Franklin Drilon whose approval rating dropped by 13 points, from 52 to 39. His trust ratings also fell by 9 points, from 46 to 37.
Meanwhile, the approval and trust ratings of House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte fell from 33 to 30 and 28 to 27, respectively.
Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno also experienced a minimal drop in ratings—an approval rating of 33 from 35 in June; and a trust rating of 30 from 32.
Makati building probe
Pulse Asia explained that among the events that happened during the conduct of the survey was the ongoing investigation on the allegedly overpriced Makati parking building, which was constructed during Binay’s term as Makati City mayor.
The second week of September also saw Albay Governor Joey Salceda suggest that the Vice President be impeached over accusations of corruption.
Other issues that made headlines during the said period were the junking of the three impeachment complaints against Aquino, the foiled bombing attempt at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the transmittal of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law to Congress and Aquino’s request for emergency powers amid the looming energy crisis in 2015.
Aquino, Binay approval across PH
Pulse Asia said most Filipinos “remain appreciative” of and trust Aquino and Binay’s performance for the third quarter of the year while half of them are undecided concerning Belmonte’s work in the past three months.
On the other hand, there was indecision and ambivalence among respondents on the performance of Drilon and Sereno.
Pulse Asia noted that while Binay suffered a drop, he was the only official who scored a “majority approval and trust ratings in every geographic area and socio-economic groupings.”
Aquino also showed majority approval and trust ratings but only in Visayas and Mindanao.
The two top officials also enjoyed bigger support among classes D and E compared to class ABC.
Pulse Asia also pointed out that “ambivalence as regards the work done by Vice-President Binay as well as his trustworthiness becomes more manifest not only at the national level (both at +8 percentage points) but also in Class D (both at +11 percentage points).”
“Furthermore, the level of indecision on the matter of trusting or distrusting the Vice-President goes up in the Visayas (+13 percentage points),” it added.
The survey firm said “appreciation for and trust in the Senate President become less pronounced in Mindanao (-18 and -15 percentage points, respectively) and Class D (-15 and -11 percentage points, respectively).”
The Pulse Asia survey has a ± 3 percent error margin and a 95 percent confidence level. “Pulse Asia
Research undertakes Ulat ng Bayan surveys on its own without any party singularly commissioning the research effort,” the group said.
RELATED STORIES
Binay has become the ‘Artful Dodger’