SWS: Aquino admin gets poor rating on Maguindanao issue

While the Aquino administration's overall satisfaction ratings were in the "very good" category, its score on the issue of resolving the 2009 Maguindanao massacre issue was -13 or "poor." According to the results of a recent survey of pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS), the Aquino administration was perceived to be poor "in resolving the Maguindanao massacre case with justice." Still, 68 percent of 1,200 respondents interviewed from September 4 to 7 this year were "satisfied" with the administration's performance. All in all, the administration received a “very good" net satisfaction rating of +56, SWS said. Based on the SWS survey results, posted on its media partner BusinessWorld on Tuesday, only 19 percent were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied while only 12 percent dissatisfied, SWS said. Maguindanao massacre In July, Malacañang expressed its frustration over the slow pace of the court proceedings of the Maguindanao massacre case. “We are just frustrated with the pace of the Maguindanao massacre case... na medyo maykabagalan. As a result, kami po ang napabigbintangan," presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters on July 22. “Sa survey ng SWS [Social Weather Stations] noong March, masama ang ratings ng executive branch dahil akala ng taongbayan kami ang may hawak ng kaso... but it is under the court po," he said. “Everybody is very, very frustrated... sana mapabilis without sacrificing due process. That will be appreciated," Lacierda said. The Maguindanao massacre, also known as the Ampatuan massacre, occurred on November 23, 2009 in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province in Mindanao. At the time, the massacre victims were on their way to file Esmael Mangudadatu's certificate of candidacy for Maguindanao governor. Mangudadatu, then Buluan vice mayor, eventually won the gubernatorial post during the May 10, 2010 polls. The 57 people who were brutally killed and buried in a mass grave in Ampatuan town included Mangudadatu's wife, his two sisters, lawyers, aides, and motorists who were witnesses or were mistakenly identified as part of the convoy. The victims also included 32 journalists who were with the convoy. A 58th victim is still missing. Aquino admin's other ratings SWS noted the latest net satisfaction rating is better than the “good" +45 and +46 scores garnered in the surveys last June and March, respectively. However, this was still less than the “very good" +64 seen in September and November 2010, it added. Still, the present administration’s net satisfaction rating remains better than those of previous adminstrations since SWS began the survey in February 1989 with the government of President Benigno Aquino III's late mother Corazon. The SWS defines net satisfaction ratings as: