Sereno, Alvarez get record-low ratings

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez (left) and Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno by the end of May. INQUIRER FILES

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez both obtained the lowest net satisfaction ratings during their tenure in the latest survey conducted by research center Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The results of the first quarter survey for 2018, which was conducted from March 23 to 27, showed that Sereno and Alvarez had a double-digit drop in their ratings.

Sereno got a negative seven (-7) rating, a personal-low for the chief magistrate, whose rating plunged by 13 points on a quarter-on-quarter basis, and by 21 points on a year-on-year basis.

“CJ Sereno’s rating stayed neutral but had a double-digit decline, at a new personal record-low -7 in March 2018, down from +6 in December 2017,” the SWS report stated.

The survey proper was done weeks after associate justices arrived at a consensus for Sereno to take an indefinite leave.  It also coincided with the referral of the impeachment report to the House of Representatives panel.

Sereno’s rating for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao all dived, most notably in Mindanao, which plummeted from +5 in December 2017 to -22.

However, for a head magistrate facing an impeachment complaint, Sereno’s rating remains high compared to the late Chief Justice Renato Corona’s grade (-28) a few months before the latter was impeached from office.

Ratings for Alvarez also dropped by 13 points, from +14 in December 2017 to +1.  His grade also fell in Mindanao, his island of origin, from +26 in December 2017 to -2.

Robredo, Pimentel, stays ‘good’

Vice President Leni Robredo got a “good” rating although down by eight points from +42 in December 2017 to +34.  Mindanao’s lukewarm reception of Robredo was evident as her rating slumped from +47 in December 2017 to +26.

Senate President Koko Pimentel’s rating also dropped by eight points, from +49 to +41.  Pimentel, who also hails from Mindanao like Alvarez, saw his grade sink by 24 points, from +61 to +37.

In retrospect, the ratings of both Robredo and Alvarez rose on a year-on-year basis, with Robredo climbing up by eight points, and Pimentel by 12 points.

SWS said that to obtain the results, they interviewed 1,200 adults nationwide, getting 300 individuals each from the four locales (Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao).

SWS considers a net satisfaction rating of +70 and above, “excellent”; +50 to +69, very good”; +30 to +49, good; +10 to +29, “moderate”, +9 to -9, “neutral”; -10 to -29, “poor”; -30 to -49, “bad”; -50 to -69, “very bad”; and -70 and below, “execrable”. /ee