MANILA, Philippines – Among the top government institutions in the country, Filipinos are most satisfied with the Senate, and least happy with President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet, according to the results of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey held in December 2019 but released only on Tuesday, March 3.

The 4th Quarter 2019 Social Weather Survey, conducted from December 13 to 19, 2019,  polled Filipinos on the performance of top government institutions: the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Supreme Court, and the Cabinet.

Based on the survey results, Filipinos are most satisfied with the performance of the Senate, which earned a “very good” net satisfaction rating of +62 in December 2019, which is 6 points higher than in September 2019.

SWS attributed the higher Senate rating to increased scores in all areas. It said that in terms of socioeconomic classes, “compared to September 2019, net satisfaction with the Senate stayed very good in all basic demographics except among class ABC where it fell from very good to good.”

The House improved its net satisfaction rating in the last quarter of 2019 from a “good” +43 in September 2019 to a “good” +51 in December 2019, an 8-point increase which SWS credited to higher scores in Mindanao, Balance Luzon, and the Visayas, as well as a steady score in Metro Manila.

“Net satisfaction with the House of Representatives rose from good to very good in rural areas, up from +44 in September to +55 in December,” SWS added.

The Supreme Court saw an 8-point improvement in its net satisfaction rating, from a “good” +41 in September 2019 to a “good” +49 in December 2019. The higher rating is due to increased scores in all areas, said SWS.

“Compared to September 2019, the Supreme Court’s net satisfaction rating rose from good to very good among class D, among women, among 25- to 44-year-olds, and among elementary graduates and above,” the pollster added.

While its net satisfaction rating increased by 10 points to a “good”  +45 in December 2019, the President’s Cabinet got the lowest satisfaction score from Filipinos in the last quarter of 2019.

The Cabinet’s higher score is due to  increases in all areas except in Metro Manila, SWS said.

“Compared to September 2019, the Cabinet’s net satisfaction rating stayed good in all basic demographics, except among 18- to 44-year-olds where it rose from good to very good,” SWS said.

The survey results also showed higher public satisfaction with the top leaders of the country in the last quarter of 2019.

The SWS conducted the 4th Quarter Social Weather Survey from December 13 to 16, 2019 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults nationwide: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.  

Among the hottest issues during the polling period were Duterte’s threats to executives of Manila Water and Maynilad after the water concessionaires won separate arbitral rulings ordering the Philippine government to pay them billions of pesos, and the discreet approval of a House resolution amending parts of the 1987 Constitution.

The survey’s sampling error margins are ±3% for national percentages, and ±6% for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

SWS said the area estimates were weighted by the Philippine Statistics Authority medium-population projections for 2019 to obtain the national estimates.

It said it employs its own staff for questionnaire design, sampling, fieldwork, data-processing, and analysis; and does not outsource any of its survey operations. SWS also said the surveys are not commissioned and are conducted on its own initiative and released as a public service. – Rappler.com