Peralta happy with approval rating, stays focused on reforms: SC

He added that Peralta and other magistrates of the judiciary are all appointed officials, hence, they logically “have lower awareness by the public”. (PNA file photo)

MANILA – Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta is focused on initiating judicial reforms “more than anything”, the Supreme Court (SC) said on Tuesday.

In a message to newsmen, SC spokesperson Brian Keith Hosaka said Peralta is “happy that despite a relatively lower awareness by the public, he still had a positive approval rating.

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“The Chief Justice is concentrated on providing the necessary reforms in the Judiciary to ensure the public that justice will be better served. That is the thrust of the Peralta Court,” Hosaka added.

He added that Peralta and other magistrates of the judiciary are all appointed officials, hence, they logically “have lower awareness by the public”.

Hosaka said Peralta is concentrating on the effectiveness of the rules and circulars that were issued and implemented during his one- year tenure as Chief Justice, especially those issued during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic in order for the public to have continuous access to the courts.

In its Ulat ng Bayan survey conducted from Sept. 14 to 20, Pulse Asia said Peralta had a majority approval score of 44 percent as “Filipinos are most ambivalent” about the work of the higher court.

It added 37 percent of the 1,200 adult respondents replied “undecided” on the Chief Justice’s performance in the survey which saw President Rodrigo Roa Duterte emerge as the most appreciated among the top government officials as the country continues to grapple with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

In the same survey, Pulse Asia said Duterte’s performance rating hit 91 percent despite criticisms on the government’s response to the health crisis.

Vice President Leni Robredo, on the other hand, got the lowest performance rating among the country’s top four government officials.

Robredo received 57 percent, behind Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano who got 84 and 70 percent, respectively.

The survey found that Duterte’s 91 percent “small to huge majority approval rating” is 4 percentage points higher compared to December 2019 survey.