PNoy, De Lima, Robredo, Luistro get high marks in survey

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo, and Education Secretary Armin Luistro are the “top-performing" Cabinet officials of President Benigno Aquino III, a survey of Metro Manila residents showed. The survey, done Oct. 9-13 by Makati-based StratPOLLS to mark President Aquino’s first 100 days in office, gave De Lima highest in terms of performance rating with 18.4 percent, followed by Robredo (8 percent), and Luistro (6 percent). The StratPOLLS survey on a national scale for the President also showed that eight of 10 Filipinos are satisfied with Aquino’s performance, giving him a 62.4-percent rating. “This is a very good benchmark grade for the President and from the layman’s point of view. Everything is coming up roses, notwithstanding the botched hostage crisis and all the labor pains of birth for the new government," Sureta said. StratPOLLS executive director Alfredo Sureta Jr. said the “high mark" De Lima got was due to her media exposure as Incident Investigation Review Committee (IIRC) chairman which did a marathon probe (Sept. 3-8) into the Aug. 23 hostage tragedy. Much of the hearings were covered live. As IIRC chair, De Lima garnered “extra [media] mileage," Sureta pointed out in the national daily BusinessMirror. De Lima was earlier in the limelight with her part in the preliminary investigations on the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre, the worst election-related violence in Philippine history. In a text message to GMANews.TV, De Lima pointed out that she was only doing her job with utmost sincerity. “Such a rating is very humbling for me. I see it as a general public’s testament to my serious and firm adherence to the principles of fairness, accountability and transparency — the very core principles I’m imparting to my co-workers in the Justice Department," the Justice chief noted. Robredo meanwhile had a respected track record in local governance as Naga's long-time mayor and is the only Filipino mayor to have received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize. On the other hand, Luistro got politically involved when he joined the call for the resignation of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Luistro — the concurrent president and CEO of De La Salle Philippines Inc. — was a prominent figure in the Black and White Movement, a group advocating for the resignation, impeachment, or ouster of then President Arroyo. “The results of the performance ratings of members of the Cabinet… are still confined to the National Capital Region as data and statistical reports covering Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao are still being completed," Sureta said. The full survey results will be revealed this Thursday, StratPOLLS marketing head Art Valenzuela told GMANews.TV. Aquino rates highest in Visayas Aquino obtained a performance rating of 41 percent in Metro Manila, 66.2 percent in Luzon, 84.4 percent in Visayas, and 58.2 percent in Mindanao, the survey showed. The performance of other top officials was also covered nationwide during the first 100 days of the Aquino presidency, StratPOLLS said. Vice President Jejomar Binay earned a nationwide performance rating of 45.2 percent and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile got 22.2 percent. “Aquino, Binay, and Enrile all earned surplus net ratings as they were among the top players in the last media-driven election campaign as subjects of daily but catchy commercial advertisements, mostly on television," said Sureta. However, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte obtained a nationwide performance rating of -16 percent and Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona received -9.8 percent. “Belmonte and Corona were not exposed to or did not get that much exposure to the public through the media during the same period," Sureta said. Formed in 2009, StratPOLLS is a member of the ALC Group of Companies and is a sister company of BusinessMirror, Philippines Graphic magazine, and radio stations dwIZ and Home Radio FM. — Sophia Dedace/Jesse Edep/VS/HS, GMANews.TV