- GILBERT BAYORAN
Negros Occidental 3rd District Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez was among the top three solons in Western Visayas with outstanding job performance scores, as per the “Boses ng Bayan” independent and non-commissioned survey conducted by the RP-Mission and Development Foundation Inc. (RPMD).
Aside from Benitez, who garnered a score of 88.2 percent, the survey results showed that Iloilo 3rd District Rep. Lorenz Defensor got an 88.9 percent score, while Iloilo City Rep. Jam Baronda garnered a score of 88.5 percent. They all shared the top spot.
The second spot, as per the survey results, was shared by Negros Occidental 6th District Rep. Mercedes Alvarez and Guimaras Rep. Ma. Lucille Nava, who scored 83.7 percent and 83.4 percent, respectively.
Negros Occidental 4th District Rep. Juliet Marie Ferrer, who got a score of 80.4 percent, shared the third spot with and Aklan Rep. Nonong Haresco Jr.
Among the notable achievers are Negros Occidental’s 2nd District Rep. Alfredo Marañon III, Bacolod City Rep. Greg Gasataya, 5th District Rep. Emilio Yulo III, and 1st District Rep. Gerardo Valmayor, the survey results further showed.
The solons were assessed and evaluated through their legislative performance, ethics and accountability, accessibility, and responsiveness, Dr. Paul Martinez of RPMD said.
In a statement, Martinez said that the survey was part of the “RPMD’s Boses ng Bayan” poll conducted from Feb. 25 to March 8 this year by the nongovernment organization. The nationwide survey was done per district in every region with a total of 10,000 respondents, who are registered voters.
He added that the respondents were randomly chosen, and the number per district was distributed proportionally, based on official voting population data./GB
