SWS poll: Estrada trial fair

Two-thirds of Filipinos believe the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan is fair or neutral in handling the criminal cases against former President Joseph Estrada, according to the March survey of independent pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS).

According to the SWS poll, 66 percent of 1,200 statistically representative respondents believe in the fairness of the Sandiganba-yan special division which is hearing the charges of plunder, perjury and illegal use of an alias against the former president.

Reflecting a pattern of opinion through all social classes, only 27 percent feel the court is biased against the deposed president while six percent feel the court is pro-Estrada.

Half of the respondents (51 percent) also said the Arroyo administration has been treating Estrada fairly (tama lang) while the other half is divided between 32 percent who said the administration is being too harsh (masyadong mahigpit) and 16 percent who said it is too lenient (masyadong mapagbigay).

SWS said the feeling that the Arroyo administration is giving Estrada fair treatment is dominant in all classes and study areas, except for Metro Manila where 42 percent feel the treatment is too harsh compared to 40 percent who feel it is fair.

The survey also showed that most Filipinos (45 percent as against 31 percent) are in favor of allowing Estrada to go abroad to undergo a joint replacement surgery on his osteoarthritic knee.

However, 48 percent of respondents are against the idea of exile for the disgraced leader while 25 percent are in favor of allowing him to leave the country to escape criminal prosecution.

The poll showed that most of the respondents who favored allowing Estrada to leave for medical treatment were in Metro Manila (57 percent in favor vs. 33 percent opposed) and Luzon (55 percent vs. 21 percent).

Most Visayans (30-49) and Mindanaons (30-32) are against allowing Estrada to undergo knee surgery abroad.

Most respondents also indicated a strong desire to be informed of the courtroom proceedings with 72 percent saying they wanted the Supreme Court to reconsider a ban it imposed on the live television coverage of Estrada’s trial.

This was only slightly less than the 83 percent in May 2001, 75 percent in July 2001 and 75 percent in September 2001 who favored television coverage of the trial before the high court ruled against it.

The poll also showed that 57 percent of respondents thought that Estrada’s recent decision to dismiss his lawyers and his refusal to accept court-appointed lawyers were merely delaying tactics. Only 16 percent disagreed.

Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan ordered Estrada, his wife, Sen. Luisa Ejercito, son Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada and former lawyers Rene Saguisag and Raymund Fortun to comment within 15 days on the indirect contempt charges filed by the group Plunderwatch.

The hearing for Plunderwatch’s suit was set at May 15 at 8:30 a.m.

But Estrada, in a telephone interview, said he had no plans of filing a comment on the complaint and insisted that he no longer recognized the court.

"They can file all kinds of complaint against me. As I said earlier, I do not recognize this court anymore. So there is no need to comment on that," Estrada said. - With Jose Rodel Clapano