Pinoys don’t want Estrada to quit — SWS

Despite the growing opposition to President Estrada, most Filipinos still don’t want him to step down, apparently because they are unsure if charges that he received millions of pesos in bribes from illegal gambling operators are true.

A special survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations Inc. (SWS) said the public does not want President Estrada to vacate office either by resignation, leave of absence, military coup, people power or snap election.

Meanwhile, vowing to defend the Constitution against "politically motivated" groups, the President appealed anew to the people yesterday to unite behind him in facing the crises gripping the country.

The SWS survey, conducted Oct. 26 to 30, covered 1,200 voting-age Filipinos nationwide. The poll was commissioned by the Manila Standard newspaper which decided to share the report with other media outlets "as a public service."

The SWS said the decision to either prejudge the charges aired by Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson that the President received the jueteng payoffs, or to abstain from doing so, was a key factor affecting public opinion about the President’s fate.

There also seemed to be little enthusiasm about Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo taking over the reins of government from an embattled Mr. Estrada, with only 25 percent saying she would make a better president, 14 percent predicting she would be worse, and 58 percent believing there would be no difference between the two leaders.

The survey showed that 50 percent were unsure if Singson’s charges were true or not, 20 percent believed the accusations were true, while 16 percent said they learned about the issue only upon the SWS interview.

In the A,B and C or middle to upper classes of society which Mr. Estrada often refers to as the elite out to topple his leadership, 45 percent said they were unsure about the truth of Singson’s allegations, while 35 percent appeared to have already concluded that they were true.

Geographically, 30 percent of the respondents in Metro Manila felt sure that the charges were true, as compared to 21 percent, 20 percent and 13 percent in the rest of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, respectively.

On the same question, 50 percent of Metro Manilans said they were unsure if they were true or not, as against 57 percent, 33 percent and 53 percent from Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao, respectively, whereas 13 percent of Metro Manila felt sure that the accusations were fabricated, and seven percent not even aware of the issue.

On calls for Mr. Estrada’s resignation, the survey showed only 29 percent agreed with it, whereas 44 percent said he should stay put, and 26 percent were still undecided.

One-half of those who were unsure if Singson was lying were opposed to resignation, meaning they wanted to give Mr. Estrada the benefit of the doubt.

Quite understandably, 64 percent of those who have judged the jueteng allegations to be true favored resignation, whereas 66 percent who felt sure that Singson was lying said Mr. Estrada should not relinquish his post.

On the proposal that Mr. Estrada should take a leave of absence as a compromise solution to the scandal, only 33 percent agreed, 44 percent disagreed and 23 percent were undecided.

Forty-five percent of those who have not formed judgment on the bribery charges were opposed to the suggestion that the President take a leave of absence, while 51 percent of those who have prejudged it said he heed the proposal, and 62 percent of the non-believers were opposed to the idea.

No to coup

An overwhelming majority of 85 percent in the three categories of the respondents roundly rejected a military coup as a mode of change of leadership. Fifty-one percent opined that the military remained loyal to their Commander-in-Chief, 17 percent believed otherwise, while the rest have no opinion.

Seventy-four percent of those who believed the charges said "no" to a coup, and 91 percent of those unbelieving also said "no."

The survey also indicated that most Filipinos (66 percent) were opposed to the use of people power to oust Mr. Estrada even as 55 percent of those who believed Singson favored it, but opposed by 88 percent of those who did not believe the governor.

A majority or 59 percent of the electorate were opposed to amending the Constitution to pave the way for a snap election.

Although it appeared certain that the House of Representatives will elevate the impeachment case to the Senate with a clear majority of the congressmen endorsing it, about 54 percent remained unsure if members of the chamber will make a fair decision, while 26 percent solidly trusted their judgment, and 19 percent have little trust.

Insofar as the Senate, which will try the case, is concerned, 57 percent were unsure, 26 percent gave the senators much trust and 17 percent have little trust.

Estrada denies role in oil price hikes and peso fall

Mr. Estrada rejected the allegations of some groups that the administration was responsible for the rising oil prices and the peso’s fall against the dollar.

The Chief Executive said other countries have fared better in facing their problems because their people would always unite behind their leaders in times of trouble.

"In other countries, I would say the people would forget their differences in time of great stress, in times they are confronted with problems and difficulties," he said. "I believe we must do the same now."

Mr. Estrada said the confidence of investors in the country’s economy was undermined because of the disinformation campaign conducted against him in local and international media over the past few weeks.

"It is unfortunate that this comes at a time when we need to unite to confront the difficulties imposed upon us by the dynamics of the larger global economy," he said.

According to a telephone survey conducted last week by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), many Filipinos do not want President Estrada to resign and prefer that he be given a chance to answer the allegations against him through the impeachment proceedings in Congress.

Director Felipe Medalla of the National Economic Development Authority released the information on the President’s weekly radio/television program "Jeep ni Erap: Ang Pasada ng Pangulo" last Saturday.

Medalla said that unlike phoned-in surveys conducted by radio and television programs, the SWS conducted the poll through scientific methods, calling the respondents at random.

"It’s random and it shows that the people don’t want him to resign but want him instead to undergo a credible impeachment process," he said.

Medalla said it is now clear that the impeachment proceedings would be more credible after Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Manuel Villar Jr. decided last Friday to leave the Lapian ng Masang Pilipino.

"In a way, what happened was a positive development," he said. "This will make the impeachment process more impartial and speedy. You cannot accuse the Senate of being biased, especially now that the Senate President himself left the ruling coalition."