Low rating by traders elates Palace

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.: We are happy? INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Malacañang is generally “happy” with the results of a Makati Business Club (MBC) survey even if key executive departments—including the Office of the President—took a beating, posting the lowest net satisfaction ratings.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said he preferred to look at the bright side, noting that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Tourism, Philippine Economic Zone Authority and other government agencies ranked high in the survey conducted among the country’s biggest business leaders.

“Overall, we are happy with the results of this survey,” Coloma told reporters in Filipino.

In the survey conducted among 65 business leaders from July 1 to 25, the Office of the President dropped from 14th to 36th place.

Coloma noted that the survey was started two weeks before President Aquino explained his side on the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) issue on July 14.

“Perhaps, [the respondents] were already asked so many questions even before they were able to hear the side of the administration,” he said.

“Even then, we would like to know the sentiments of the members of the MBC so we could identify their concerns in the most effective way.”

The Senate dropped 48 places (14th to 62nd) while the Department of Budget and Management fell 46 places (4th to 50th) in the MBC survey.

The survey was begun on the day the Supreme Court declared the DAP unconstitutional.

That the BSP topped the survey meant that business had a “high level of confidence” in the way it had been “steering the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals, especially monetary stability,” Coloma said.

Senate President Franklin Drilon on Tuesday said the Senate will work hard to restore the people’s trust in the institution, after its rating suffered the sharpest plunge among the government agencies surveyed.

Drilon said he accepted that the controversies over the alleged theft of the congressional pork barrel and the DAP had dragged down the Senate’s approval ratings.

“But that would probably not be permanent. What’s important is we do our best to show the people that we deserve their trust,” he told reporters.

He said he was confident that in the next MBC survey, the people would see how the Senate had worked.

Sen. Sonny Angara said the pork barrel scam was probably to blame for the Senate’s waning reputation.

But its image would eventually improve over time, Angara said, adding that the approval of measures to lower taxes imposed on workers might help, he said.

In the latest MBC survey, the Senate fell 48 places, from 14th to the bottom at 62nd place.

The Senate figured prominently in the pork barrel scam controversy, with three of its members—Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla—charged and detained for the alleged plunder of public funds.

Twenty of the Senate’s 23 members also benefited from the DAP, with their projects funded through the controversial savings-impounding mechanism, amid critics’ suggestions that this was a bribe for voting to convict impeached Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona.