Pulse Asia: VP Binay still most trusted govt official

Vice President Jejomar Binay is still the country's most trusted top government official, a Pulse Asia survey revealed on Monday. In the Pulse Asia poll conducted from May 21 to June 4, both Binay’s approval and trust ratings remained unchanged at 83 percent and 81 percent, respectively— the same percentages he obtained in March this year. These figures are still higher compared to that of President Benigno Aquino III, who received a lower 71-percent grade in both trust and approval ratings during the survey period. Binay’s lead over Aquino cuts across all geographic areas and socio-economic classes, with respondents from Mindanao and the poorest class E giving the vice-president the highest marks. Binay received a high 89-percent approval rating and an 84-percent trust rating in Mindanao compared to Aquino’s 79 and 76 percent, respectively. The country’s second highest official also received higher grades among the poorest Filipinos (84 percent approval rating and 83 percent trust rating) compared to the President (77 approval performance rating and 78 percent trust rating). The pollster however noted that both Aquino and Binay are still “trusted by most Filipinos" despite the issues that plagued the government during the survey period, such as the rise in oil prices and the alleged special treatment extended by prison officials to several high-profile inmates. Corona still least trusted Chief Justice Renato Corona, on the other hand, remains as the least trusted among the country’s top five government official, the same survey showed. Corona’s trust rating further dropped to 23 percent in May from 28 percent last March, while his approval rating also declined to 28 percent from 32 percent three months ago. The two heads of Congress—Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.– also suffered from ratings drop during the survey period, the poll showed. Enrile’s trust rating decreased to 49 percent from 56 percent last May. The same decline can be observed in his approval rating, which went to 57 percent from 60 percent. Belmonte, meanwhile, suffered the highest decreases in both trust and approval ratings among the country’s top officials. The House Speaker’s trust rating dropped 10-percentage points from 43 percent in March to 33 percent during the survey period. His approval rating, meanwhile, dipped to 39 percent from 50 percent last March. The survey was administered to 1,200 adults nationwide using face-to-face interviews. It has a margin-of-error 0f plus-or-minus three percent. - VVP, GMA News