Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte has topped the list of top legislators from Bicol in the 19th Congress with an “impressive” performance score of 89.6 percent, according to the latest quarterly opinion poll by the RPMD Foundation Inc.
Based on its “Boses ng Bayan” job performance assessment survey of members of the House of Representatives in the region, Villafuerte—who represents the province’s second district—was in the No. 1 spot as top-performing Bicolano congressperson based on the critical parameters of “district representation, legislative performance and quality of constituent service.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda (of the second district) is in a statistical tie at first place with Villafuerte, with a score of 89.5 percent.
RPMD said that Villafuerte and Salceda “are recognized as the top-performing representatives in the region.”
Two more CamSur representatives were on the “Top 5” list, namely, Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata (first district) at No. 4 with a score of 85.4 percent; and Miguel Luis Villafuerte (fifth district) at No. 5, with a score of 84.2 percent.
Based on the RPMD survey, Sorsogon Rep. Maria Bernadette Escudero came in No. 2, with a score of 88.3 percent; and Albay Reps. Fernando Cabredo (third district) and Edcel Lagman (first district) were tied at No. 3, with respective scores of 87.1 percent and 86.9 percent.
Villafuerte, who was a three-term CamSur governor before he was first elected to the House in 2016, “leads with an impressive 89.6 percent performance score,” according to the RPMD in a post on its FaceBook page about this job performance assessment poll.
It said the evaluation of the Bicolano legislators were “based on three critical parameters—district representation, legislative performance, and quality of constituent service.”
In the FB post, Dr. Paul Martinez—the executive director and global affairs analyst RPMD—underscored the significant role voters and political analysts played in the “Boses ng Bayan” job performance survey.
“He (Martinez) highlighted the importance of these quarterly evaluations of House members in promoting transparency and accountability, offering real-time insights into their performance in district representation, legislative efforts, and constituent services,” RPMD said.
“These assessments not only spotlight areas for growth but also ensure that elected officials remain aligned with the priorities of their constituents. By empowering voters with up-to-date information on their Representatives’ work, the surveys enable more informed decisions during elections,” it added.
Martinez congratulated the solons from Bicol who excelled in the latest RPMD survey, and “commended their dedication to serving their constituents and urged them to strive for excellence.”
The RPMD said its “Boses ng Bayan” survey was part of its broader nationwide second-quarter study, which surveyed 10,000 respondents.
With a margin of error of ±1% and a confidence level of 95%, the survey provides a reliable snapshot of public sentiment within each district, it said.
Villafuerte is in his third and final term as lawmaker and has filed his candidacy for governor in CamSur.
