THE THREE great departments of the Philippine government—the Executive (President), Legislative (Senate and House of Representatives) and Judiciary (Supreme Court and all other courts)—are empowered by the Constitution to preserve freedom and democracy among its people.
To serve such purpose, these institutions are accorded with distinct powers and responsibilities. However, to prevent any form of abuse of power, they are also subjected to separation of powers with appropriate checks and balances to ensure accountability and responsiveness in the government.
Article XI of the Constitution states that: “Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives.”
This complicated exchange lives under the Filipinos’ scrutiny. The departments are expected to play a complementary relationship, one that is more symbiotic and less parasitic. If they begin to be at each other’s throats, erosion of public trust will be the impending result.
In the long run, this will leave the government to hang in a precarious balance. This might cripple this country that is dependents on the ideals of democracy and thrives on public participation.
According to a latest nationwide poll, the country’s top leaders—President Aquino, Senate President Franklin Drilon, Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte—suffered declines in their approval and trust ratings. Pulse Asia survey also found that approval ratings in the Senate, House of Representatives and Supreme Court dropped.
The survey was conducted from June 24 to July 2, when operations of these departments were constantly hounded by controversies.
According to the poll body, various issues preoccupied Filipinos immediately prior to and during the conduct of the field interviews for this survey, among which are: the arrest of Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla in their alleged involvement in the Priority Development Disbursement Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam; indictment and accusations of various lawmakers in the PDAF scam; the decision by the Supreme Court to declare several acts under the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as unconstitutional; urgent calls for DAP accountability of Pres. Benigno Aquino III and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.
Also affecting the ratings decline are the ongoing tension between the Philippines and CHina over territories in the West Philippines Sea; the string of high profile crimes; high inflation rates and even the decision of Pres. Aquino to reject the nomination of actress Nora Aunor as National Artist for Film.
Trust and approval ratings indicate the public’s general feelings toward a leader at a given point in time, but they don’t predict the real score of how leaders faired in their responsibilities.
Still, by looking at politicians’ favorability, these numbers can provide suggestions of strengths and weaknesses, and things that need work. For leaders, the numbers these ratings show is a yardstick that tells them of their standing among the people.
If the numbers are unfavorable, the ratings serve as a wakeup call. If the numbers are positive, the leaders are subjected to discernment. They are given an option to either be complacent or work even harder to make a lasting impression to the public.
Rating these leaders also gauges how the dynamics of the government is progressing or regressing. The Filipinos’ support is very important to any of these leaders—considering that the public is essentially who gets someone into office, and whom leaders are serving and representing.
On the other hand these leaders play a central role in every Filipino’s life. Aside from running a smooth sailing government system, these leaders also represent the hopes and interest of every Filipino in the world. (AJPress)