If only she will believe…

If only she will believe…
Sheila Coronel
Executive Director
Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

ALTHOUGH majority of Filipinos remain hopeful about the country, the number of those who feel the Philippines is a hopeless case has substantially leapt from 11 percent last July to 23 percent in October of this year, the latest Pulse Asia survey showed.

The number of Filipinos who expressed an intention to migrate has also risen from 26 percent to 33 percent over the same period. The sentiment is expressed chiefly by the urbanites, class ABC, the 18- to 24-year-olds and those with some college preparation or completed college.

The October 2005 levels for hopelessness and intention to migrate are the highest figures recorded for the two series since these were started in 2002, according to Pulse Asia. With Christmas a few weeks away, only two in 10 Filipinos say the coming holiday season will be more prosperous for their family compared to last year. However, seven in every 10 still look forward to the New Year with hope. Pulse Asia administered the survey to 1,200 adult respondents from Oct. 15 to 27.

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PRESIDENT Gloria Arroyo may have survived an attempt to impeach her, but nearly six in 10 Filipinos (58 percent) prefer that she quit her office.

Pulse Asia’s Oct. 15-27 nationwide survey of 1,200 adult respondents shows 52 percent of Filipinos continue to believe Arroyo did not win fairly in the 2004 elections.

There is no consensus among Filipinos about the best person to lead the country, but Arroyo and former President Fidel V. Ramos topped the list of persons named as not acceptable to lead the country, according to the survey.

Pulse Asia polled the respondents at a time when the following were hogging the headlines: the calibrated preemptive response policy, including the dispersal of a prayer rally attended former Vice President Teofisto Guingona with the use of water cannons; Executive Order 464 requiring executive officials to obtain presidential permission before appearing in any congressional inquiry; the Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the expanded VAT law; issues surrounding the Venable contract; and rising pump prices of gasoline and diesel products.

Of the 58 percent who favor Arroyo’s resignation, 17 percent say it would be most beneficial for Filipinos if a presidential election followed her resignation; 12 percent favor her eventual replacement by Vice President Noli de Castro; 11 percent prefer her replacement by a temporary “junta” that would pave the way for the election of a new president or prime minister; 11 percent say both Arroyo and De Castro should resign and Senate President Franklin M. Drilon temporarily taking over while preparations are made for a special election; and 8 percent favor de Castro taking over while preparations are made for a new government under a new charter.

Forty percent of Filipinos, meanwhile, see a coup by the military and police at this time as most inimical to the people’s well-being.

It was unclear who the respondents consider as the best person to lead the Philippines at present. The findings show 19 percent favoring De Castro; former President Joseph Estrada, 14 percent; Sen. Panfilo Lacson, 13 percent; and Arroyo, 12 percent.

Quite discernible is the declining preference for De Castro, from 26 percent last July to 19 percent in October. Preference for Lacson likewise slid, from 21 percent to 13 percent. Besides Arroyo (40 percent) and Ramos (39 percent), also high in the list of individuals considered as not acceptable to lead the country were Eddie Villanueva, 34 percent; Susan Roces, 29 percent; Lacson, 25 percent; Estrada, 20 percent. PCIJ