Wednesday, April 05, 2006
48% for ouster of Arroyo by people: survey
MANILA -- About 48 percent of Filipinos believe that removing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by a people power uprising would be good for the country, the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed.
Only 27 percent of those surveyed disagree with the statement, while 21 percent are undecided.
Malacañang said that President Arroyo, who turns 59 Wednesday, remains unfazed by the new SWS survey results.
"It is unfortunate that there are those in the political arena who are still following the old track of search and destroy, when the whole nation is jumping onto the new track of unify and build," said the President.
In the Visayas, where she claimed most of her vote margin in 2004, 42 percent of respondents agree with President Arroyo's removal by people power, but 39 percent disagree.
Anti-coup
But while respondents from the National Capital Region and Mindanao have no problems with the prospect of replacing Arroyo through a military coup, Visayan respondents disagree.
At least 46 percent of those surveyed in the Visayas believe it would not be good for the country if a coup succeeds.
At least 300 respondents from the Visayas took part in the survey, taken from March 8 to 14 using face-to-face interviews. A total of 1,200 adults nationwide composed the survey sample.
"The idea that removing GMA by people power would be good for the country obtained a plurality of almost half (48%) in agreement, versus one-fourth (27%) opposed, and the rest taking no side," the SWS announced last Monday in its website (www.sws.org.ph).
Dwindling
While the percentage of those open to President Arroyo's removal is high, their ranks appear to be thinning, if past SWS surveys are taken into account.
Last December, 58 percent told SWS they preferred President Arroyo's resignation while 17 percent did not. In the March 2006 surveys, 44 percent said her resignation "will be good the country." About 23 percent disagreed.
Based on the net scores (the difference between opposing answers) in the March 2006 survey, Metro Manila respondents favor resignation (+42) over people power (+33).
In Luzon, they are inclined more towards resignation (+18), against people power (+14). Mindanao prefers people power (+44) compared to resignation (+30).
In the Visayas, the net scores are +3 for people power, +2 for resignation, and -14 for military coup.
By socioeconomic classes, those in the higher-income ABC brackets preferred resignation (+27) over People Power (+25). Class D respondents favored people power (+20) over resignation (+16), while Class E favors resignation (+32) over people power (+23).
Surveys
The survey also showed that 45 percent did not support government's prohibition of rallies during the 20th Edsa People Power anniversary celebration last Feb. 24.
In a separate survey, the SWS has also found out that 53 percent are dissatisfied with President Arroyo, compared to 22 percent who are satisfied. About 26 percent are undecided.
But surveys that dwell on the political fate of the President do not faze her, as she "remains committed to governance and reforms that have a long-term impact" on the country, said Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye.
Bunye, who is also the presidential spokesman, said that unlike the President, the opposition has failed to offer a plan of national renewal and economic reinvigoration.
Bunye likened the revival of the Senate hearings on alleged fraud in the 2004 elections to "the flogging of a dead horse" in a bid to push the opposition's political agenda. (JMR/Sunnex)
(April 5, 2006 issue)
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