Filipinos think that government agencies that deliver social services and administer the education and health sector are performing better than other government institutions, a survey by polling firm Pulse Asia showed.

Based on the July 2008 Ulat ng Bayan survey of Pulse Asia,  Filipinos give high approval ratings for the performances of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DEPED), and Department of  Health (DOH).

DSWD received the highest approval rating of 65 percent among the 20 government agencies included in the survey. The education department got 63 percent approval rating while the health department received 61 percent.

The approval ratings of these three agencies are higher than those received by Supreme Court (39%), the Senate (34%) and the House of Representatives (31%).

Approval ratings of the SC and the House of Representatives are two points higher than their March 2008 ratings. Meanwhile, the Senate’s rating declined by five percentage points from the 39% it received in March 2008.

Other agencies that fared better than the legislative and judicial branches of the government include the Social Security System (59%), University of the Philippines (55%), the Philippine National Police (49%), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (48%), National Food Authority (45%), the Government Service Insurance System (42%), and the Department of Tourism (41%).

Respondents, however, gave government officials and cabinet members running some of these agencies lower ratings. For instance, Social welfare secretary Esperanza Cabral only got 34% rating, which is a little more than half of the ratings of DSWD .NFA administrator Jessup Navarro only managed to get 28 percent approval rating while his agency received 45 %

Among the cabinet officials included in the survey, it is education Secretary Jesli Lapus who got the highest approval rating. Lapus got a 40% rating, a figure which is much lower than the ratings of the education department.

Other cabinet officials who got higher ratings are Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano (36%) and Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap (30%).

Two local officials, however, fared better than some of the members of the Cabinet. Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay got a 48% approval rating while Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte received 44%.

The survey noted, however, that the performance ratings of some officials “are essentially unchanged” and their awareness level remained low.

“Awareness of cabinet and sub-cabinet officials performance-rated in the survey remains rather low, despite increased media exposure of some of these officials due to the crises,” the survey showed.

The survey, which was conducted by interviewing 1,200 respondents, has a margin of error of  +3 and was conducted from July1-14, 2008. Among the issues that were reported when the survey was conducted are the worsening global food crisis, oil price increases, peso depreciation, raising of transport fare, passage of cheaper medicines bill,  and the granting of various government subsidies. (abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak)

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