Poll: 58% disapprove of CJ; Binay still tops, Noy steady

A majority or 58 percent of Filipinos have expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of Chief Justice Renato Corona while 60 percent said they distrust him, a recent survey by Pulse Asia showed.

Vice President Jejomar Binay obtained the highest trust rating (80 percent) and approval rating (84 percent) among the top national government officials.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile experienced an 11-point increase in his satisfaction rating (from 60 percent last November to 71 percent) and a seven percent decline in the level of indecision toward his performance.

Enrile’s trust rating also went up from 59 percent to 63 percent.

President Aquino’s approval rating (70 percent) remained high while his trust rating (69 percent) went down from 74 percent.

Forty-one percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the work of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. while 16 percent said they were dissatisfied.

The survey was conducted from Feb. 26 to March 9 among 1,200 respondents. Fieldwork for the survey was completed when the impeachment court was in recess after 26 days of trial.

Disapproval is majority

sentiment vs Corona

The survey showed that disapproval of the Chief Justice was the majority sentiment across geographic areas (52 to 61 percent) and socio-economic groupings (57 to 64 percent).

Corona also suffered a 24 percent point drop in his approval rating and a 34 percent increase in his disapproval score.

Six in 10 respondents expressed “small trust or no trust” in Corona while 11 percent expressed “big trust” in him.

Criticism for the work done by Corona was pronounced in all geographic areas (+25 to +40 percent) and socio-economic classes (+32 percent to +41 percent).

Enrile’s approval rating, on the other hand, went up in Metro Manila and the Visayas (+19 percent to +24 percent) and Classes D and E (+11 percent to +15 percent).

“Between November 2011 and March 2012, indecision regarding the Senate President’s performance eased among Metro Manilans and Visayans (-14 percent),” Pulse Asia said.

Belmonte suffered a drop in his approval ratings in Mindanao (-15 percentage points) and Class E (-16 percentage points). Thirty-two percent of respondents expressed “big trust” in the Speaker while 19 percent said they have “small/no trust” in him.

Impeachment trial affected officials’ ratings

In an interview with the ABS-CBN News Channel, Pulse Asia president Ronald Holmes said the trial has led to an increase in Enrile’s trust and approval ratings while negatively affecting Corona’s ratings.

“They are basically the chief players in the impeachment trial, the Senate President as the presiding judge and the Chief Justice as the one tried by the impeachment court,” he said.

Holmes, however, said public opinion of Corona could still change depending on the outcome of the trial.

“It depends largely on the presentation of the defense. You cannot expect opinion to be fixed in this matter in relation to their position on whether the trial is fair or the judgment on the Chief Justice,” he said.

Senate most trusted

The survey also showed that the Senate is the most appreciated and trusted institution.

Half of respondents or 50 percent said they were satisfied with the performance of the Senate. Pulse Asia said at least one out of every two Visayans (50 percent), Mindanaoans (52 percent) and Metro Manilans (53 percent) as well as those in Class D (52 percent) trusts the Senate.

The House of Representatives and the Supreme Court had essentially the same approval and indecision ratings (43 versus 40 percent and 41 versus 35 percent, respectively).

The Supreme Court on the other hand, obtained a higher distrust rating than the Senate and the House (21 percent versus 10 percent to 12 percent, respectively).

The Supreme Court’s national approval score also dropped by 11 percent while overall indecision about its performance increased by seven percent.

Enrile says approval ratings don’t matter

Enrile said he is neither affected nor interested in the results of the survey.

“Hindi na ako interesado sa mga ganun. Salamat sa Diyos (I am no longer interested in such things, thank God),” Enrile said when sought for comment.

The 88-year-old lawmaker said he is just doing his job as Senate President and presiding officer of the impeachment trial.

But he said he was also grateful for the support he is getting now, citing how he was subjected to harsh namecalling during the martial law regime.

Enrile likened the work and popularity of a government official to ice cream.

“Popularity is like ice cream – sometimes hard, sometimes soft. Sometimes it melts but it does not mean that you are a bad person or you did not do well if it melts,” Enrile said in Filipino.

He said he could only thank the people for appreciating the things he had done.

“I do not aim for it, I would do what I believe needs to be done. First to give justice to what we are doing, second for the greater good and third so we can leave a legacy to the next generation,” Enrile said.

When asked about the President’s rating, Enrile said: “You cannot please all the people whenever you make a decision… Just pray that your decision is right.”

Malacañang unfazed

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Malacañang is not bothered by the consistent high trust rating of the Vice President.

“You go through the surveys even of the past administrations… Displeasure is always directed towards the Chief Executive,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda added that they are “very happy” about Binay’s ratings.

“Historically, the Vice President has a high trust rating and is higher than the President’s,” he said.

Lacierda noted that the President’s rating remains high and is proof that he enjoys the popularity and trust of a majority of the people.

“We view this as an indication of support for the President’s fight against corruption and poverty,” Lacierda said.

“As we have always maintained, public office is a public trust. There is no greater proof that the public is feeling the effects of our reforms than the President’s sustained trust and satisfaction ratings,” he added.

“We take these results as reinforcement to push for economic and institutional reforms to achieve inclusive, equitable growth,” he said.

Binay says gov’t determined

to improve people’s lives

Binay, for his part, said the Aquino administration would continue to exert all efforts to improve the lives of the Filipinos.

“We face many challenges ahead but President Aquino and myself are determined… to overcome these challenges and improve the lives of our people,” Binay said.

“Again, I would like to thank the President for his trust, and the people for their support, ”Binay added.

‘Highly unreliable’

The lawyers of Corona yesterday dismissed as “highly unreliable” the Pulse Asia survey, which showed that 60 percent of respondents have little or no trust in their client.

Lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas said it is not certain whether the respondents understood the issues surrounding the impeachment trial.

“First, we don’t know who these people are. Second, we don’t know if they understood the things being discussed here. Third, they may not know the merits (surrounding the issues). So that is highly unreliable,” Cuevas told reporters before yesterday’s proceedings.

“In fact, even the justices themselves are still uncertain as to how they stand on definite and particular issues involving the impeachment proceedings,” he added.

Defense lawyer Jose Roy III said the public should not be swayed by results of surveys.

“I’m not sure about the accuracy of survey. The issue is for us to persuade the 23 senators. That’s what we are doing,” Roy said.

Defense panel spokesman Rico Quicho said history would show that chief justices are not usually popular.

“More often than not, they shy away from public eyes. They live outside the attention of the public. That is necessary because they have to maintain their independence,” Quicho said.

Quicho said the Pulse Asia survey should not be used to condition the minds of the public during the break in the impeachment trial.

“We hope nobody takes advantage of the results. This can serve as a basis but not the foundation of truth. Let us not use these (results) to influence the process of the impeachment. These should not be used to destroy the name of Chief Justice Corona,” he said.

Public perception about Corona shaped during

trial – prosecution

The prosecution, for its part, claimed that the impeachment proceedings played a role in shaping public perception of Corona.

Lead prosecutor Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. said the public is watching the developments in the impeachment trial. He claimed the prosecution was able to present strong evidence to prove allegations of wrongdoing against Corona.

“They (public) are closely monitoring the situation and they get information from it. The prosecution has done a good job in presenting evidence,” Tupas said.

Belmonte shrugs off approval rating drop

Belmonte shrugged off the drop in his public approval and trust ratings even as he vowed to work harder in passing vital reform measures.

“I thank the 41 percent,” the Speaker told reporters. “If you will notice, I had a substantial increase in

rating from respondents in Metro Manila,” he said.

The Speaker earlier reminded lawmakers not to be complacent even if they get favorable ratings.

‘Cite Pulse Asia in contempt’

Siquijor Rep. Orlando Fua urged yesterday the Senate impeachment court to cite officials of Pulse Asia in contempt, saying it was apparent it was trying to influence the senator-judges to convict Corona.

“They (Pulse Asia officials) could be cited for contempt if the Senate impeachment court would use its coercive powers because the survey is trying to influence the decision of senator-judges,” Fua told reporters.

House Deputy Minority Leader and Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay said the survey was “more of propaganda,” adding that Pulse Asia is a profit-oriented organization.

“While we are still halfway through the trial, here comes the usual providentially-timed survey by Pulse Asia showing that nearly half of respondents already believe the Chief Justice is guilty. Whether or not this survey is technically sound, its timing is obviously suspect, and the intentions clearly partisan,” Magsaysay said.

“Why else would such a survey result be disclosed at this very moment, when the defense still hasn’t been heard and so the judgments being formed by the public are still incomplete? Is this survey really a disinterested exercise?” she said. – With Christina Mendez, Jose Rodel Clapano, Paolo Romero, Delon Porcalla, Alexis Romero