SAN FERNANDO CITY, July 14 (PIA) -- La Union Governor Francisco Emmanuel R. Ortega III is among the top five performing governors in the Philippines, an independent non-commissioned survey shows.

Based on the recent survey conducted by the RP Mission and Development (RPMD) Foundation Inc., Ortega ranked third among 16 regional governors nationwide with a 70 percent job approval rating.

He came after  Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia with 77 percent approval rate and Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor with 72 percent who were ranked first and second, respectively.

Adding to the list of top five include Gov. Marc Douglas Cagas IV of Davao del Sur Province with 67 percent and Gov. Dennis Pineda of Pampanga Province with 62 percent.

“As for the governors, we chose the regional center of the provinces to gather significant data for analysis. We are hoping that this will give our public servants a good insight on how they are doing with their constituents" said Dr. Paul Martinez of the RPMD in a statement.

He added, "Of the 16 provincial governors representing in every region, 10 achieved a majority high job performance rating while six were not able to attain a majority approval."

On his Facebook page, Ortega welcomes the survey results and shares the good news to each of his constituents.

“This is a clear manifestation of the collective efforts we have put in since day one and we have each Kaprobinsiaan to thank for,” Ortega said on his official Facebook page.

While he considers the said recognition as a big win, he said the province must keep improving and moving forward by working together in building a stronger La Union.  

“Our unity and teamwork will continue to take our Province of La Union to greater heights,” the governor said.

The survey which ran from June 10-25 had 5,000 respondents across all regions. (JCR/JPD, PIA La Union)