MANILA TIMES: P-NOY STILL POPULAR, BUT...
MANILA, JUNE 24, 2011 (MANILA TIMES) DAN MARIANO - AT the risk of sounding like a Palace mouthpiece, this corner sees little change in the popularity of President Benigno S. Aquino 3rd.
The results of the latest SWS survey—notwithstanding their depiction in media as representing a "drop" or "dip"—were remarkable only because they showed seemingly unshakable "satisfaction" with the President among a big majority, 64 percent, of the poll's 1,200 adult respondents.
As in past announcements on survey findings, confusion arises from the pollster's preference for "net satisfaction ratings." What the term simply means is the difference between "satisfaction" and "dissatisfaction."
In the case of the 3-6 June 2011 survey, the President's net satisfaction rating resulted after the pollster subtracted the 18 percent of respondents who said they were dissatisfied with Mr. Aquino from the 64 percent who said they were satisfied. The result was a number, +46, which gave the erroneous impression that most of the respondents were displeased with Mr. Aquino.
The sum of 64 and 18 is 82; so what about the other 18 percent? We can only surmise that this group of respondents had no opinion one way or the other. Presumably, too, the "dip" in the President's satisfaction rating came from those respondents who declined to say if they were satisfied or dissatisfied.
On the other hand, the level of dissatisfaction for Mr. Aquino has remained steady at 18 percent, the same as the survey findings last March.
In fact, the SWS findings have given Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda an opening to take a jab at the administration's critics. He was quoted saying that the survey results "should 'confound the pundits' who have been drumbeating a 'massive drop' in [the President's] and the administration's satisfaction ratings from March to June."
I don't know if it was a wise thing to say on the part of a Palace functionary whose duty it is to maintain cordial ties with the media. However, the survey numbers have evidently given Malacañang the confidence to try and pin its detractors to an embarrassing corner.
As of this writing—Wednesday afternoon—initial reports about the results of another opinion poll could make Lacierda and company sound even cockier.
Wednesday afternoon, ANC reported that a new survey has given the President high approval and trust ratings. Pulse Asia's "Ulat ng Bayan" survey, taken from May 21 to June 4, gave the President a 71-percent trust rating.
Neither survey tried to find out from their respondents why they were satisfied, dissatisfied or had no opinion about the survey subject. Analysts of the SWS and Pulse Asia findings can thus only speculate on why the respondents felt the way did when they were asked the survey question.
It would be safe to say, however, that the absence of any major scandal linking the President to the misuse of public funds or abuse of authority has continued to make him widely acceptable to the public. The criticisms that have been hurled against him—thus far—sound so petty as to be laughable.
But this is only his first year in office, and in the five more ahead of him the temptations could become harder to resist, if not for himself then certainly for many of those around him. Lest anyone forget, Mr. Aquino's immediate predecessor had also cultivated the image of an anti-corruption crusader who was catapulted to the presidency in the climax of an uprising against a once highly popular president who was eventually convicted for plunder.
How quickly the lessons of history are lost especially among people who find themselves with more power than they were prepared to handle.
Another probable reason for Mr. Aquino's enduring popularity is the failure of the opposition to produce a credible alternative. In fact, the betting among political observers is that the President's rival would come from within the administration itself or others who now claim to support him.
Ignorant factotum Another Palace official who seems determined to make more enemies than friends for his boss is Secretary Ramon Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office.
Better known as Ricky in his previous career as a TV news reader, Carandang reportedly scored leftist groups for what he described as their "silence" on the Spratlys dispute with China.
In a report posted on a TV news website, Carandang was quoted telling reporters last Monday: "May mga grupo d'yan na, you know, mabilis mag-reklamo. Bahagi naman talaga ng demokrasya natin 'yon, ang pagrereklamo. Pero dito sa isyu ng West Philippine Sea, parang wala kang marinig na hinaing sa kanila." Here's a rough translation: "There are those groups that, you know, are quick to complain. That's really a part of democracy, complaining. But on the issue of the West Philippine Sea, it seems like you don't hear any protest from them."
A leader of one of "those groups" Carandang took a dig at has come out to accuse the Palace official of ignorance.
Fernando Hicap of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) said so-called "leftist" groups have already made clear their stand on the territorial dispute.
Hicap reportedly said, "Either Mr. Carandang is not reading the newspapers handed to him every day or he is not browsing the Internet regarding the Left's position on the Spratlys dispute."
Hicap added: "Please allow us to set the record straight. The Left has rebuked China's arrogance in dealing with the Spratlys."
It's not the first time Ca-randang was caught with his foot in his mouth.
At the height of the presidential campaign last year, while he was still a TV news reader, Carandang erroneously described newspaper columnist Dick Pas-cual as an appointee of then-President Gloria M. Arroyo to the board of a government-owned corporation—a misidentification that Carandang nonetheless invoked to "explain" Pascual's alleged pro-GMA stance.
On both points, Carandang turned out to be wrong and his network bosses compelled him to issue an apology. Observers wonder if he was already part of the Aquino campaign while was still reading network news.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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