Public most satisfied with Drilon

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon today expressed gratitude to the country for topping the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey with the highest public satisfaction rating among the country’s top officials, and vowed that he will continue to lead the Senate as a reform-oriented institution whose works directly benefits the nation.  

“I am humbled and much thankful for the people’s trust, support and confidence in my leadership of the Senate, and it is inspiring to see that our hard work to improve the lives of Filipinos does not go unnoticed,” Drilon said.  

The third quarter SWS report, conducted last September 2 to 5, 2015  showed that the Filipino people gave Drilon a “Good” +42 net satisfaction rating (with 61% satisfied, 18% dissatisfied, and 19% undecided), a major 13 leap from his +29 public satisfaction rating recorded by SWS last June (with 52% satisfied, 24% dissatisfied, and 22% undecided). 

The poll also revealed that Drilon saw a nine percent rise in public satisfaction with his performance as Senate leader, from 52% in June to 61%, and trimmed the number of constituencies dissatisfied with his work by six percent, from 18% to 24%.

Noting that his latest SWS rating is the highest he got since assuming the post of Senate presidency in July of 2013, Drilon said that he is glad to know that through the laws that they have passed, more and more Filipinos are starting to see and feel the relevance of the Senate to their daily lives.

He said that the Senate had passed much-needed and long-sought reforms to the country’s education, health, economic and judicial systems, as it did with the passage of the Iskolar ng Bayan Act, the Graphic Health Warning Act, the Foreign Banks Liberalization Act, and the amendments to the Sandiganbayan Law. 

Under Drilon’s watch, the Senate also passed laws on major improvements to the country’s public services, like the UNIFAST Act, the Open High School Act, the act on mandatory Philhealth coverage for all senior citizens, and the act that raised the tax-exemption limits for bonuses and benefits up to P82,000.

It is also under Drilon's leadership when landmark laws which languished in Congress for decades were enacted into law, such as the Philippine Competition Act and the amendments to the Cabotage law. 

Drilon then promised the public that he will “continue to strive to lead the Senate and ensure that it is an institution that fully and urgently responds to the needs, concerns and pleas of the nation – especially that of our underprivileged countrymen.”

“Indeed there is no better way to win the hearts of our fellow Filipinos than by actually doing your mandate and by helping them improve their lives, through effective and much-felt laws and policies,” he then concluded.

While Drilon's rating surged, the public satisfaction with the performance of Vice President Jejomar Binay went down by nine points, from 42% to 33%.

On the other hand, public satisfaction with President Benigno S.  Aquino III's performance rose to 41% from 30%, while House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno got a positive five and four percent grade, respectively. 

Meanwhile, the SWS also recorded an 11% increase in the net satisfaction rating of the Senate as an institution, from +33 in June 2015 to a "Good" +44 this September.