THE strong approval of district representatives across the country shows that Filipinos distinguish between the political noise surrounding Congress and the work they actually see being delivered in their own communities, Deputy Speaker and Zambales 1st District Rep. Jefferson “Jay” Khonghun said Monday.
Khonghun welcomed the OCTA Research Tugon ng Masa survey showing that 64% of adult Filipinos believe their own congressman or congresswoman is doing a good job representing their district in the House of Representatives.
“Mas mahirap linlangin ang mga tao pagdating sa sarili nilang distrito dahil araw-araw nilang nakikita kung sino ang present at kung sino ang puro pangako. Alam nila kung may kongresistang bumabalik, nakikinig at may naiuwing resulta, kaya para sa akin, mahalaga ang 64% rating na ito,” Khonghun said.
The independent and noncommissioned survey found that 64% agreed their district representative was doing a good job, compared with 27% who disagreed and 9% who said they did not know or could not say.
Khonghun noted that the rating for individual representatives was substantially higher than the 38% trust rating and 37% positive performance rating OCTA recorded for the House as an institution, which the polling firm itself identified as the survey’s most distinctive finding.
“May lesson diyan for all of us in Congress: institutions are judged from afar, pero ang congressman, sinusukat sa lapit niya sa tao. Hindi sapat na maganda ang speech mo sa Batasan kung pag-uwi mo sa distrito, hindi ka naman mahanap kapag kailangan ka,” Khonghun stressed.
He said the result should push lawmakers to raise the bar further under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and under the leadership of Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III and Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos.
“Our direction under Speaker Bojie at Majority Leader Sandro ay huwag maging detached ang Kongreso sa totoong buhay at pangangailangan ng Pilipino. Every budget we approve, every bill we pass and every hearing we conduct should eventually answer a very basic question: Ano ang nabago nito sa buhay ng tao?” Khonghun said.
The survey showed majority satisfaction in every major geographic area, with the Visayas posting 68%, Mindanao 65%, Balance Luzon 63% and the National Capital Region 60%.
Approval was highest among Class E respondents at 72%, compared with 63% among Class D and 62% among Class ABC, while rural and urban respondents posted nearly identical satisfaction levels of 65% and 63%, respectively.
“Pero hindi natin ididisregard ang 27% na nagsasabing kulang pa at may 9% na hindi pa kumbinsido. Ang tamang sagot diyan is not to celebrate louder, but to work harder and make sure mas marami pang Pilipino ang may dahilan para sabihing may silbi sa buhay nila ang kanilang kinatawan,” Khonghun stressed.
The nationwide Tugon ng Masa survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews from July 4 to 11 among 1,200 adult Filipinos with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
“In the end, hindi naman survey score ang habol namin under Speaker Bojie and Majority Leader Sandro, kundi tiwala na pinaghihirapan at serbisyong nararamdaman, dahil ang tunay na report card ng isang kongresista ay nasa distrito.”
metrosundaily
