MANILA, Philippines – Trumped by Vice President Jejomar Binay in previous trust and approval surveys, President Benigno Aquino III finally caught up with the person aspiring to succeed him in 2016.

Binay now leads Aquino only by 1 percentage point in trust ratings, according to a survey released by pollster Pulse Asia on Wednesday, December 19.

Aquino registered a nationwide trust rating of 80% in November compared to Binay’s 81%. In a similar survey in September, Aquino got 78% while Binay got 84% – a difference of 6 percentage points.

The survey’s margin of error is -/+3%. This makes their 1-percentage-point difference in the survey negligible.

In terms of performance, Aquino posted a 78% rating in November while Binay registered 82%, comprising a difference of 4 percentage points.

Aquino’s performance rating remained unchanged from a similar Pulse Asia survey in September. Binay’s rating in the same area, however, dropped by 3 percentage points from 85% in September.

Due to good news?

Pulse Asia conducted the survey from November 23 to 29, when the following local news items preoccupied Filipinos, according to the pollster: 

• the appointment of Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, among other officials

• the Commission on Elections’ party-list purge

• the passage of the Sin Tax Bill, the debates on the Reproductive Health bill, and the approval of the Freedom of Information Bill at the committee level

• pyramiding scams

• the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting in Laos and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Cambodia

• alleged toxic waste dumping in Subic

• the 3rd anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre

• the 7.1% growth of the Philippine economy in the 3rd quarter, the peso’s against the US dollar, and the stock market’s record-breaking performance

• the increase in power rates and gas prices

• the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s failure to meet its October 2012 target

Binay is eyeing the presidency in 2016 while Aquino’s former running mate, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, has not abandoned an earlier plan to run for president. Roxas is expected to run on a platform of continuing Aquino’s legacy. – Rappler.com