By Jose Cielito Reganit/Philippine News Agency
MANILA — The leadership of House of Representatives Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo would be best measured by her actions and not through opinion polls, a ranking House leader said on Thursday, following the result of a survey that showed Arroyo maintaining a “poor” net satisfaction rating.
The results of a March 28-31 Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed Arroyo’s net satisfaction rating at -17.
House Majority Leader Fredenil Castro attributed the results to the black propaganda waged against the former president by certain politicians out for personal vendetta.
Castro was referring to the allegations of insertions in the 2019 PHP3.757-trillion national budget at the height of the budget impasse.
“Natural lang na maapektuhan ang rating ni Speaker Arroyo ng mga paninira tungkol sa budget (It is only natural that Speaker Arroyo’s ratings would be affected by the allegations over the budget),” the Capiz lawmaker said.
He, however, noted that despite the political noise, Arroyo’s ratings was still “up by four points.”
Arroyo’s net satisfaction rating for December 2018 was -21.
Castro stressed that the true measure of public service is not reflected in surveys but in concrete and definitive action — the kind that Arroyo showed in the aftermath of the 6.1-magnitude earthquake that struck parts of Luzon last Monday afternoon.
Arroyo, who is in her last term as Pampanga lawmaker, immediately acted personally to attend to the concerns of earthquake victims in the badly-hit areas of her home province and ensure that everything will return to normalcy as soon as possible.
“Agad kumilos ang Speaker para sa mga nasalanta ng lindol. Ito ang tunay na serbisyo sa publiko, anuman ang lumabas sa survey (The Speaker immediately acted for those affected by the earthquake. This is what public service is all about, whatever comes out in the survey),” Castro said.
Castro’s sentiments was shared by San Juan City Rep. Ronaldo Zamora who said Arroyo’s compassionate act of attending personally to the concerns of earthquake victims in Pampanga showed the good and excellent brand of her leadership.
“She cut short her participation in scheduled events to focus on helping the victims and see for herself the rescue and rehab efforts following the earthquake,” he said.
“The style of Speaker Arroyo has always focused on getting results and work done rather than on the approval ratings,” Zamora said.
And like Castro, he also noted that Arroyo’s approval ratings still rose despite the “virulent black propaganda” that was hurled against her during the budget intramurals.
“The House under Speaker Arroyo crafted a democratic and transparent allocation of government projects and services among all districts regardless of political affiliation. I fully agree with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, who was correct in saying there was nothing unconstitutional about the budget proposed by the House,” Zamora said.
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