Aquino approval, trust ratings up

President Benigno Aquino III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

WITH roughly three months left in office, President Aquino scored a majority approval rating and higher trust ratings this month, according to a Pulse Asia survey.

Results of the survey released Monday also showed that only the Supreme Court among the three government institutions obtained a majority approval rating, and that none of the top national officials scored majority trust ratings this month.

Out of 1,800 registered voter respondents nationwide, 52 percent approved of Mr. Aquino’s performance, up from 49 percent in January.

Trust in the President also rose by 10 points, from 39 percent in February to 49 percent in March.

Vice President Jejomar Binay’s approval and trust ratings were down from 47 to 46 percent, and from 48 to 44 percent, respectively.

The approval rating of Senate President Franklin Drilon was up from 44 to 46 percent but his trust rating decreased from 46 to 42 percent.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte’s approval and trust scores improved from 24 to 30 percent and from 20 to 27 percent, respectively.

Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno saw her approval and trust ratings up, from 25 to 31 percent and from 21 to 30 percent, respectively.

The Supreme Court posted a 52 percent approval, up from 45 percent in December 2015. Approval of the performance of the Senate was slightly up at 49 percent from 47 percent. That of the House of Representatives was virtually unchanged from 40 to 41 percent.

Geographic areas

Across geographic areas, approval of the President increased in the rest of Luzon

(51 from 45 percent) and Mindanao (58 from 55 percent), but decreased in Metro Manila (33 from 35 percent) and the Visayas (59 from 62 percent).

By class, Mr. Aquino’s approval score improved in Class E (58 from 52 percent) and Class D (50 from 49 percent), but declined among Classes ABC (45 from 51 percent).

Binay’s approval scores moved up in Mindanao (49 from 41 percent) and the Visayas (42 from 37 percent), but decreased in the rest of Luzon (47 from 53 percent) and Metro Manila (45 from 49 percent).

Among socioeconomic groups, Binay’s  approval rating decreased among Classes ABC (32 from 36 percent), and Class D (45  from 46 percent). It was unchanged among Class E at 54 percent.

Approval of Drilon’s performance rose in Mindanao (46 from 34 percent), in the rest of Luzon (44 from 41 percent) and Metro Manila (49 from 48 percent), but dropped in the Visayas (47 from 58 percent).

By classes, Drilon’s approval increased among Class E (48 from 43 percent) and Class D (45 from 43 percent), but went down among Classes ABC (49 from 57 percent).

Belmonte’s approval scores improved across all geographic areas: Mindanao (26 from 15 percent), the rest of Luzon (31 from 26 percent), Visayas (21 from 17 percent) and Metro Manila (44 from 42 percent).

The Speaker’s approval ratings increased among Class D (31 from 24 percent) and Class E (26 from 19 percent), but went down among Classes ABC (37 from 40 percent).

Sereno’s approval ratings improved across all areas and socioeconomic classes: Mindanao (33 from 15 percent), Visayas (29  from 25 percent), the rest of Luzon (30 from 27 percent), Metro Manila (36 from 35 percent), Class E (30 from 18 percent), Class D (31 from 25 percent) and Classes ABC (40 from 38 percent).

Mr. Aquino’s trust ratings increased across the regions and socioeconomic classes: Mindanao (57 from 42 percent), Visayas (58  from 46 percent), the rest of Luzon (45 from 38 percent), Metro Manila (33 from 26 percent), Classes ABC (46 from 30 percent), Class E (54 from 41 percent) and Class D (48 from 40 percent).

Binay’s trust ratings declined across the regions: the rest of Luzon (45 from 54 percent), Metro Manila (44 from 46 percent), Mindanao (47 from 49 percent), Visayas (36 from 37 percent).

By class, trust in Binay increased among Classes ABC (34 from 26 percent), but decreased among Class D (43 from 49 percent), and Class E (50 from 54 percent).

Palace, Binay reactions

The survey, which used face-to-face interviews, was conducted March 12-18 with a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2 percentage points.

Among developments during the survey were the Supreme Court decisions to overturn the Commission on Elections ruling to disqualify Sen. Grace Poe as a presidential candidate and the investigation

into possible electronic fraud and money-laundering scheme involving transfer of $81 million from Bangladesh to accounts in the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said public confidence in Mr. Aquino “remains strong,” pointing out that the President was the only national official to get a majority approval rating for performance and an increase in his trust rating.

Binay’s camp, in a reaction,  thanked the people “for their continued trust in the Vice President despite the irresponsible misinformation campaign perpetrated by his political opponents and some media outfits.” With a report from Christine O. Avendaño