Estrada rating up before jueteng row

President Estrada‘s popularity rating was actually improving before a recent scandal over alleged gambling payoffs, according to a survey by the Social Weather Stations Inc.

The poll was conducted about two weeks before Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson accused Mr. Estrada of receiving more than P400 million in bribes from gambling operators.

Mr. Estrada has denied the allegations, but opposition groups said they will file an impeachment case with the House of Representatives today.

In the survey, about 49 percent of the respondents in the Sept. 23-Oct. 6 poll said they were satisfied with the President’s performance, up from 47 percent in the June 20-July 6 survey. About 31 percent were dissatisfied, down from 34 percent, the survey group said.

Mr. Estrada’s net satisfaction rating, obtained by subtracting the number of dissatisfied people from the number of satisfied, rose to around 19 percent from 13 percent in the previous survey.

The poll was taken as the government conducted a military assault to rescue 19 hostages, including foreigners, from the Abu Sayyaf, and after Mr. Estrada approved a new air agreement with Taiwan.

The President scored the highest net satisfaction rating of 40 percent in Mindanao, where the government launched a major offensive against the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

He obtained his highest satisfaction rating of 67 percent in March 1999, but this fell sharply to five percent in December 1999 and has climbed slowly since then.

As for Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 73 percent of those polled expressed satisfaction with the way she does her job, while 11 percent were dissatisfied.

Her net satisfaction rating, however, dipped from 68 percent in June-July to 63 percent in September-October.

Senate President Franklin Drilon had a satisfaction score of 59 percent, with 12 percent of the respondents expressing dissatisfaction with his performance, for a net rating of 47 percent. His net score in the previous survey was 48 percent.

Speaker Manuel Villar Jr. received a net satisfaction rating of 32 percent, with 52 percent of those surveyed expressing satisfaction with his performance. His previous net score was 48 percent.

Net ratings for the three branches of government were all down from July to September – from 31 percent to 18 percent for the Supreme Court, 28 percent to 25 percent for the Senate, 25 percent to 16 percent for the House of Representatives, and 24 percent to 10 percent for the executive branch.

The SWS survey results were contained in a "strictly confidential" memorandum sent to the President last Monday by SWS vice president Linda Luz Guerrero.

It was made public yesterday by Press Secretary Ricardo Puno.

"I will frankly say that this survey was conducted prior to this latest controversy on jueteng," he said. – Marichu Villanueva, Jess Diaz