Friday, March 23, 2012

News Update Enrile, Binay rating up, Aquino & Corona approval down

Amid the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Vice President Jejomar Binay gained respective higher performance ratings, Pulse Asia said.

President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III and Corona's numbers however went down, the pollster added.

According to the poll firm's Ulat ng Bayan national survey for March, 70 percent of respondents said they approved Aquino's performance. This is two points lower than his November 2011 approval rating.

Of 1,200 adult respondents interviewed, 9 percent disapproved Aquino's performance while 21 were undecided.

Pulse Asia said the "increase in oil prices, fluctuating power rates, declining headline inflation rate, and the record-breaking performance of the Philippine Stock Exchange" were among the prevailing issues while the survey was being conducted.

The survey was conducted from February 26 to March 9, before the term "Noynoying"--which Aquino's critics said means doing nothing--became a talk of the town.

Binay is meanwhile enjoying a higher approval rating at 84 percent. Only 9 percent disapproved while and 13 percent has yet to decide on Binay's performance.

Enrile, who has been presiding over Corona's impeachment trial, had a 71 percent approval rating, a whopping 11 points higher than his November 2011 rating.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. got a much lower approval rating with 41 percent, and another 41 percent are undecided about his performance rating. Fewer respondents reported 'awareness' of Belmonte, at 86 percent than of the other government officials that Pulse Asia asked about.

All respondents are "aware" of Aquino and Binay while Enrile and Corona got a 99 and 98 percent awareness, respectively.

Although more people have heard of Corona, Pulse Asia said 58 percent of respondents disapproved of the impeached Chief Justice. Few respondents, 14 percent, approved of Corona while 26 were undecided.

Corona least trusted

In the poll, Corona was the least trusted among the top government officials.

Pulse Asia claimed 60 percent had "small or no trust" in Corona, and although 29 percent of respondents were still undecided, only 11 percent said they had "big trust" in the Chief Justice.

The survey was conducted before his defense lawyers could present evidence at the Senate impeachment court.

More respondents, 80 percent, reported having "big trust" in Binay. Only 4 percent of those surveyed said they had little to no trust in the former Makati mayor.

Enrile got a 63 percent trust rating while Belmonte got 32 percent.
"In keeping with our academic nature, no religious, political, economic, or partisan group influenced any of these processes. Pulse Asia undertakes Ulat ng Bayan surveys on its own without any party singularly commissioning the research effort," the polling firm said.