THE Senate received the highest public satisfaction rating among top government institutions under President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s administration, the Fourth Quarter 2017 Social Weather Station (SWS) survey results showed.

Sixty-nine percent of those surveyed were satisfied with the performance of the Senate while 14% were dissatisfied, the poll results said.

The House of Representatives came next, with 59% of respondents saying that they were satisfied and 16% dissatisfied. Meanwhile, 54% were satisfied with the performance of the Supreme Court although 17% were dissatisfied. The Cabinet ranked fourth among the lot, with 53% satisfied and 15% dissatisfied.

The noncommissioned survey was conducted from December 8-16, 2017 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao).

SENATE
The Senate’s net satisfaction rating rose by one grade from good to very good, at +56 (correctly rounded) in December 2017, up by 10 points from +46 in September 2017, the SWS said, indicating that its rating remained under the “very good” range.

Based on the SWS net satisfaction ratings, those with 70+ and above are 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”; -70 and below, “execrable”. SWS considers the movement from one classification to another as either an “upgrade” or “downgrade”.

“The 10-point rise in the overall net satisfaction rating of the Senate was due to increases of 23 points in Mindanao, 10 points in Balance Luzon, 3 points in Metro Manila, and 1 point in the Visayas,” the polling group said.

For comparison, the Senate’s net satisfaction rating rose by one grade from good to very good in Mindanao, at +67 in December, up by 23 points from +44 in September.

It also rose by one grade from good to very good in Balance Luzon, at +54 in December, up by 10 points from +44 in September. Meanwhile, it stayed very good in the Visayas, at +53 (correctly rounded) in December, hardly moving from +52 in September. It also stayed good in Metro Manila, at +46 in December, up by 3 points from +43 in September.

Sought for comment, Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III said: “It’s a team/group effort. The majority is blessed to have hardworking members and also a reasonable and cooperative (not obstructionists) minority.”

HOUSE RATING
For its part, the House of Representatives logged a “good” rating, at +43 in December 2017, up by 9 points from +34 in September 2017.

SWS said the “9-point rise in the overall net satisfaction rating of the House of Representatives was due to increases of 14 points in Balance Luzon, 13 points in Mindanao, and 5 points in Metro Manila, combined with a 5-point decline in the Visayas.”

The net satisfaction rating of the House of Representatives rose by one grade from moderate to good in Balance Luzon, at +42 in December, up by 14 points from +28 in September. It rose by one grade from good to very good in Mindanao, at +52 in December, up by 13 points from +39 in September; and it also increased by one grade from moderate to good in Metro Manila, at +34 in December, up by 5 points from +29 in September. In the Visayas, it stayed good at +41 in December, although down by 5 points from +46 in September.

SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court’s net satisfaction stayed good, at +37 in December 2017, up by 6 points from +31 in September 2017.

“The 6-point rise in the overall net satisfaction rating of the Supreme Court was due to increases of 8 points in Mindanao, 6 points in Balance Luzon, and 5 points in the Visayas, combined with a 1-point decline in Metro Manila,” SWS said.

SWS data also showed that the Supreme Court’s (SC) net satisfaction rating rose by one grade from good to very good in the Visayas, at +50 in December, up by 5 points from +45 in September, which also rose by one grade from moderate to good in Balance Luzon, at +35 in December, up by 6 points from +29 in September. It stayed good in Mindanao, at +41 in December, up by 8 points from +33 in September. SC’s net satisfaction also stayed moderate in Metro Manila, at +17 in December, hardly moving from +18 in September.

CABINET
Finally, the Cabinet also logged a “good” rating, at +38 in December 2017, up by 6 points from +32 in September 2017.

SWS explained that “the 6-point rise in the overall net satisfaction rating of the Cabinet was due to increases of 15 points in Mindanao, 8 points in Balance Luzon, and 3 points in Metro Manila, combined with a 7-point decline in the Visayas.”

The net satisfaction rating of the Cabinet rose by one grade from good to very good in Mindanao, at +52 in December, up by 15 points from +37 in September. It rose by one grade from moderate to good in Balance Luzon, at +35 in December, up by 8 points from +27 in September. It also increased by one grade from moderate to good in Metro Manila, at +31 in December, up by 3 points from +28 in September. It stayed good as well in the Visayas, at +32 (correctly rounded) in December, although down by 7 points from +39 in September. — Arjay L. Balinbin

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