Congress, Cabinet, SC satisfaction ratings up in Q4

MANILA, Philippines — Public satisfaction with key government institutions under the Duterte administration settled in the “good” to “very good” territories in the last three months of 2017, with the Senate recording the highest score, a Social Weather Stations survey released Thursday found.

In fourth quarter, the Senate’s net satisfaction, used by SWS to rate performance, rose to +56, classified as “very good” in the survey of 1,200 Filipinos conducted from December 8 to 16.

That was 10 points above the “good” +46 logged in the third quarter.

According to the pollster, the significant improvement in the Senate’s net satisfaction score was due to increments across geographical areas, with gains recorded in Mindanao (23 points), Balance Luzon (10 points), Metro Manila (five points), and Visayas (one point).

Upgrades in the upper chamber’s score likewise occurred in almost all socio-demographics. It rose by one grade in both urban and rural areas, in all classes, among sexes, and in all educational levels, SWS reported.

On the other hand, the House of Representative’s net satisfaction rating steadied in the “good” territory at +43, although up by nine points from +34 a quarter ago.

SWS attributed the rise in the House’s score to improvements across geographical areas, except in Visayas where a five-point decline was recorded.

“Upgrades in the House of Representatives' net satisfaction rating from September to December 2017 occurred among 18-24 year olds, among 35-44 year olds, among those 55 years old and above, and among high school graduates,” the pollster said.

“It stayed ‘good’ but had double-digit increases in urban areas, among class Es, among women, and among college graduates,” it added.

Meanwhile, significant spikes across areas except in Metro Manila, where a one-point drop was recorded, lifted the Supreme Court’s net satisfaction rating by six points to +37 from +31, although it stayed in the “good” territory.

The December reading also saw the high court's satisfaction score climb among the poor and non-elementary graduates. However, downgrades were reported among those who belong to classes ABC.

Lastly, President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet ended 2017 with a six-point surge in its net satisfaction rating at +38 from the previous reading’s +32, steadying in the “good” territory.

Except in Visayas where it slipped by seven points, Filipinos’ satisfaction with Duterte’s alter egos jumped across geographical areas and among the poor.

However, it stayed “good” but had a double-digit decline among those who belong to the upper-class.

Based on SWS methodology for net satisfaction ratings, a score of 70 and above is considered excellent, 50 to 69 is very good, 30-49 good and 10-29 moderate.

The poll has sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages, and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

READ: SWS: Duterte's satisfaction rating rebounds to 'very good' in Q4 | Leni Robredo’s ratings good; Pimentel hits record high