By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS
PULSE Asia’s latest poll on approval and trust ratings of top government officials showed Vice President Jejomar Binay suffering a huge minus 15 drop in performance and minus 18 in trust in the span of three months.
Approval of President Aquino’s performance remained the same at 54 percent in June 2015 and during last month’s survey (Sept. 8 to 14). The people’s trust for him registered a minimal decline, from 50 percent last June to 49 percent last month.
The performance and trust rating for Senate President Franklin Drilon, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. and Supreme Court Justice Lourdes Sereno remained almost the same, moving only one or three percent.
The nationwide survey conducted among 2,400 respondents showed that from 58 percent who approved of Binay’s performance in June 2015, only 43 percent expressed satisfaction with his performance. The number of those who disapproved increased from 18 in June to 26 percent last month.
The number of those undecided about his performance increased from 24 to 31 percent.
In the trust department, Binay‘s rating decreased from 57 percent in June to 39 percent last month.
But survey ratings should be the least of Binay’s concern now as the Ombudsman is set to file either with the Sandiganbayan graft charges against him in connection with the alleged anomalous bidding of the building project in Makati.
That’s only for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. It’s not plunder. Which means he can post bail and continue with his presidential candidacy, as he has announced.
The information we got, however, is it’s Binay’s son, suspended Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, who will finally be ordered dismissed by the Ombudsman next week. That would be another major blow on Binay.
Charges will also be filed against the younger Binay with the Sandiganbayan. If it’s plunder, he faces arrest.
Meanwhile the meeting of Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte casts doubt on a Binay-Marcos tandem .
Sources said the Marcos grand dame, Imelda, approved of it but there’s a lot of resistance from other members of the family and staff of Sen. Marcos.
After Sen. Gringo Honasan declined his offer to be his running mate, we learned Binay is talking with Rep. Lito Atienza.
