Despite GMA, poverty

Proud to Be Pinoy

To survive, it looks like Filipinos are now wont to have a persistent belief in democracy and pride in being Filipinos, expecting little from corrupt and inefficient government institutions.

By MARIA SALAMAT
Bulatlat 

Notwithstanding the social crisis, Filipinos remain proud of their national identity and have learned not to expect anything from the government.

Based on the Social Weather Station’s (SWS) annual yearend recap of findings from all its surveys, “pride in being Filipino is very high and impervious to economic downtrends, political crisis and security concerns.” It appears that most Filipinos do not really identify with their present government leaders and that many of these leaders have actually isolated themselves from most Filipinos.

Dr. Mahar Mangahas, president of SWS, revealed that in terms of governance, “public satisfaction was at a historic low” indicated by a pronounced dissatisfaction with national administration performance in addressing inflation, corruption, crime and poverty.

He said that “net satisfaction with a president has never been so low and prolonged,” as shown in the declining satisfaction ratings of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo compared to that of former Presidents Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada.

Filipinos want Arroyo out

The SWS recap gathered that the political crisis stemmed from the controversial 2004 national and local elections. A whopping 71 percent of SWS’ respondents believed Susan Roces’ (wife of the late Fernando Poe, Jr. who ran for president in 2004) accusation of massive cheating. Many also believe that Commission on Election (Comelec), National Movement for Free Election (Namfrel), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) have definitely or probably been involved in cheating in the 2004 elections.

The “Hello Garci” (allegedly wiretapped conversations between Arroyo and Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano) issue is not yet over, Mangahas said. Based on their surveys, there is a general sentiment for ousting President Arroyo, whether through impeachment, resignation or people power. But even among those who want Arroyo impeached, only a few trust the House and Senate to be fair in their decisions.

Meanwhile, the moves for charter change – widely perceived to be either Arroyo’s graceful exit or her attempt at holding on to power – are not really initiated from below, and the people are aware that they are not part of it. In the SWS surveys, 70% of respondents do not have suggestions for any change in the charter, while 30% who gave suggestions have ideas that do not really call for amending the constitution.

He said that allowing a past or present president to become prime minister is not popular. The SWS surveys also found out that the government rates just a teeny bit higher than rebels in terms of perceived sincerity in talking peace.  

Hungrier and poorer

It also does not look like Arroyo and her administration will ever get more popular because the Filipinos have become poorer in 2005, and believe that the next 12 months will not bring much improvement. Mangahas said that the economic situation in 2005 was bad, pointing out an upward trend in self-rated poverty and more incidences of belt-tightening as female and youth unemployment also increased. Hunger went from a record low in September 2003 to record high in December 2005.

Almost half of the SWS’ respondents declared that compared to a year before, their quality of life has now become worse. Bulatlat

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