CHIEF Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez both suffered sharp declines in their net satisfaction ratings, the March 2018 Social Weather Stations survey showed.
Alvarez received a net satisfaction rating of +1 (neutral), down 13 points from +14 in December 2017, the SWS report said.
This was seven points below his previous record-low of neutral +8 in September 2017.
Alvarez suffered a 28-point decrease in his home region of Mindanao, a 12-point drop in the Visayas and a 10-point decline in the balance of Luzon.
His ratings went up three points in Metro Manila, however.
Sereno’s rating remained neutral at -7, reflecting a 13-point drop from December 2017, where her satisfaction rating was at +6.
Her March rating was six points below her previous record low of -1 in December 2015.
Sereno’s ratings fell 27 points in Mindanao, 13 points in the Visayas, 11 points in the balance of Luzon and three points in Metro Manila.
The survey was conducted from March 23 to 27, 2018 through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults nationwide. It has error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages, and ±6 percent each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Alvarez said he was unperturbed by his latest SWS showing, saying the results must serve as a challenge to all public officials to work hard for the best for the Filipino people.
“The latest Social Weather Stations survey results are a barometer of the public’s pulse at a certain period but continually serve as a challenge for us to do our work,” Alvarez said.
He added that the survey results will not distract Congress from pursuing its legislative tasks, particularly passing legislation that will advance the Duterte administration’s socio-economic agenda.
“There is a huge task ahead but we will persevere for all to benefit from it,” Alvarez said.
The Sereno camp said the drop in the chief justice’s satisfaction ratings was not surprising, given the “well-orchestrated and well-funded campaign” against her.
Sereno’s spokesperson, lawyer Josa Deinla, also said “what is right is not always what’s popular.”
Nonetheless, she said, Sereno will regain the public trust once the people har her defense against the allegations being raised against her.
“The Chief Justice is optimistic that if she will be given her day in court— the Senate impeachment tribunal— she can defend herself and prove that all the allegations against her are baseless and wrong. The Filipino people, too, deserve to know the truth,” Deinla said.
