JDV: Arroyo to win by substantial margin

It will be a tough fight but President Arroyo will end up victorious with a substantial margin of votes in the May elections, Speaker Jose de Venecia predicted yesterday.

He noted that the President’s approval rating has been on the rise and is catching up with that of movie actor Fernando Poe Jr.

"It’s going to be a tough contest, but in the end, I think President Arroyo will have a fair and substantial lead," De Venecia told The STAR.

As the election campaign heats up, supporters of presidential candidate Raul Roco may also abandon him to fortify the bid of Mrs. Arroyo.

In a press statement, Erle Argonza of the Kaisahan ng Mamamayan para sa Bayan (Kaisambayan) said that "voters of Roco may want change in the leadership of the government but certainly not with an FPJ leadership."

Argonza, a Development Studies and Economics professor at the University of the Philippines-Manila, noted that as survey polls continue to show trends of an impending FPJ presidency and with Mrs. Arroyo only a few points behind, Roco’s supporters may shift their support to the President to help her win.

In a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, Poe led presidential candidates with 36 percent followed by Mrs. Arroyo who closed in at 27 percent. Roco was displaced from second place and slid down to 19 percent.

But a more recent SWS survey, which polled respondents on who they thought was "most experienced" to help the country’s economic woes, Mrs. Arroyo topped the list with 33 percent.

A mock poll by the Makati Business Club (MBC) validated this from the business sector’s point of view with the President getting the nod of 47.6 percent.

"The truth of the matter is that even if Roco insists on running, he will be abandoned by his voters and supporters as his chances of winning are getting nil," Argonza said.

Earlier, two prominent social scientists — former socio-economic planning secretary Solita Monsod and Political Economic Applied Research Foundation president Tony Gatmaitan — suggested that Mrs. Arroyo should negotiate with Roco to seal her victory.

But so far, Roco has insisted on running.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, meanwhile, called for a "heightened level of political discourse" to improve investor confidence in the country.

Barbers, chairman of the House committee on accounts, said notwithstanding the better-than-expected economic indicators, the political mudslinging and the foiled destabilization plot against the government are eroding whatever gains the Arroyo administration has achieved.

"As the local currency is pummeled by lack of investor confidence, as manifested by strong corporate demand for the greenback due to the heightened political risks, the marginalized poor and middle class will definitely bear the brunt of the crunch," Barbers said.

Other administration lawmakers called on the public to end speculations about new destabilization moves against the Arroyo administration since these only contribute to the weakening of the local currency.

In a joint statement, Bacolod City Rep. Monico Puentevella, House assistant majority leader Allan Peter Cayetano of Taguig-Pateros, Bulacan Rep. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado and Nueva Ecija Rep. Aurelio Umali urged the public to "maintain their faith in the President and her reforms, and the democratic institutions and work for the peaceful and orderly conduct of the polls."