THE public satisfaction rating of the Philippine Senate settled in “very good” territory in the fourth quarter of 2018 while the House of Representatives, the Supreme Court, and the Cabinet held steady with a “good” rating, according to the results of a new Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey.
The non-commissioned Fourth Quarter 2018 SWS Survey was conducted from Dec. 16 to 19, 2018 via face-to-face interviews of 1,440 adults nationwide and with sampling error margins of ±2.6% for national percentages as well as ±5% each for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.
SENATE
The latest SWS survey found 71% Filipinos satisfied and 13% dissatisfied with the performance of the Senate.
The SWS noted that public satisfaction with the Senate “rose by one grade from good to very good, up by 10 points from +48 in September 2018 to +58 in December 2018.”
This is also the highest rating of the Senate since the “very good” +67 in August 2012.
(SWS terminology for Net Satisfaction Ratings: +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”; -70 and below, “execrable.”)
SWS said the 10-point gain in the Senate’s net satisfaction was due to increases in all areas of the country: “good” to “very good” in Metro Manila (from +34 in September to +57 in December); “good” to “very good” in the Visayas (from +48 to +61); holding steady at “very good” in Mindanao (from +51 to +60); and also a steady “very good” in Balance Luzon (from +50 to +56).
By class, the Senate’s net satisfaction rating rose from “good” to “very good” among class E (from +46 in September to +62 in December); “good” to “very good” among class D (from +49 to +58); and stayed “good” among class ABC (from +38 to +42).
HOUSE
The House of Representatives logged a “good” +40 (57% satisfied and 17% dissatisfied) in the same quarter. The SWS said the latest rating is up by 4 points from +36 in September. This rating is also the highest since the “good” +42 in June 2016.
“The 4-point rise in the overall net satisfaction rating of the House of Representatives was due to increases in Metro Manila (from +19 in September to +36 in December) and the Visayas (from +34 to +41), combined with steady scores in Mindanao (from +41 to +42) and Balance Luzon (from +39 to +40),” the SWS report added.
By class, it increased from “moderate” to “good” among class ABC (from +27 in September to +46 in December). The rating stayed “good” among class D (from +35 to +39) and class E (+41 in both quarters).
SUPREME COURT
For its part, the Supreme Court’s net satisfaction rating stayed “good,” from +31 in September 2018 to +37 (54% satisfied and 17% dissatisfied) in December of the same year. SWS said this rating is “similar to the good +37 in December 2017.”
“The 6-point improvement in the overall net satisfaction rating of the Supreme Court was due to increases in Metro Manila (from +22 in September to +35 in December), Balance Luzon (from +31 to +38), and the Visayas (from +41 to +47), combined with a slight decline in Mindanao (from +29 to +27),” the SWS noted.
The survey found that the net satisfaction with the Supreme Court increased in all classes, especially among class ABC (from “neutral” to “very good,” +9 in September to +53 in December).
The rating stayed “good” among class E (from +34 to +41) and class D (from +32 to +35).
CABINET
Finally, the net satisfaction rating of the President’s Cabinet also stayed good, from +32 in September 2018 to +35 (52% satisfied and 17% dissatisfied) in December 2018.
The SWS noted that the Cabinet’s latest rating is the highest since the “good” +38 in December 2017.
“The 3-point increase in the overall net satisfaction rating of the Cabinet was due to increases in Metro Manila (from +23 in September to +35 in December) and the Visayas (from +38 to +45), combined with a steady score in Balance Luzon (from +34 to +35) and a slight decline in Mindanao (from +29 to +27),” the report showed.
The public satisfaction rating of the Cabinet “rose by two grades from moderate to very good among class ABC, up by 26 points from +27 in September to +53 in December,” according to the SWS.
The Cabinet’s rating improved from “moderate” to “good” among class E (from +29 to +35) and stayed “good” among class D (from +33 to +34). — Arjay Balinbin

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