Chiz attributes high performance rating to colleagues, staff

Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero credited on Wednesday his high performance rating to the hard work of his colleagues and staff in the Senate.

In a news release, Escudero said the 60 percent approval rating he received in the recent Pulse Asia survey is a reflection of the Senate's commitment to passing meaningful legislation and addressing governance issues.

Escudero was the only official with majority approval across all regions and had the lowest disapproval rating at 8 percent, according to the survey result released Monday night.

“We thank the people for recognizing the work being done here in the Senate. My commitment as Senate President is to ensure the Senate continues to work for the people -passing legislation to make the lives of our people easier, help us move faster and make our people’s burdens lighter,” he said.

Since taking office in May, the Senate has approved 137 bills, 14 of which have become law.

Escudero also highlighted the improved relations with the House of Representatives as a factor in the Senate's performance.

“We wasted no time in acting on a significant number of the priority legislation of the Marcos administration. Several of these bills that are also part of the common legislative agenda of Congress are in the advanced stages of discussions. We commit to work on the remaining bills --both national and local, in the remaining session days of the 19th Congress,” Escudero said.

Wake up call

For Senator Joel Villanueva, the survey result is a "wake up call" for public officials to "step up their game."

"We take this opportunity also for our people to be more, mas kilatisin nila yung ating mga kandidato sapagkat at the end of the day, yung leaders na pinipili natin (to scrutinize candidates harder because at the end of the day, they are the leaders that we choose), will dictate the future of our nation, the future of our next generation," Villanueva said in an interview.

He said surveys show a "small window where you can look at how Filipinos perceive our leaders and our institution."

"We should not be complacent, comfortable from where we are right now. We need to step up our game. We need to show our people that we are sensitive to their needs. I think that’s the bottom line of all these surveys," Villanueva said. (PNA)