8 of 10 Pinoys want Binay to face Senate – SWS

MANILA, Philippines - Nearly eight in 10 Filipinos want Vice President Jejomar Binay to face the ongoing Senate investigation and answer the corruption allegations against him, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed.

Seventy-nine percent of Filipinos agreed that Binay should face the Senate to answer such allegations, as proposed by some senators, 10 percent disagreed, while 11 percent were undecided.

The nationwide survey was conducted from Sept. 26 to 29 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 respondents.

Of those who favor Binay’s appearance in the Senate investigation, 57 percent “strongly” agreed and 22 percent “somewhat” agreed.

Six percent somewhat disagreed, and four percent strongly disagreed.

The remaining one percent did not have an answer.

SWS said a majority of Filipinos across all geographical areas want Binay to face the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee investigating the allegedly overpriced parking building in Makati City.

Eight in 10 or 82 percent of respondents in Metro Manila, 80 percent of those in Mindanao, 79 percent in “balance Luzon” and 73 percent in the Visayas either strongly or somewhat agreed that Binay should face the Senate probe.

SWS said the proportion of those who strongly agree was highest in Metro Manila at 64 percent, followed by balance Luzon at 58, Mindanao at 54 percent and the Visayas at 51 percent.

By socio-economic class, 81 percent of respondents in class D or the masses, 80 percent of those in ABC, and 72 percent of those in class E strongly or somewhat agreed that the Vice President should face the probe.

The proportion of those strongly agreeing was higher among the upper classes: 65 percent in class ABC, compared to 58 percent in class D and 50 percent in class E, the pollster added.

The survey found 63 percent of respondents, who were dissatisfied with Binay’s performance as vice president, “strongly” agreed he should appear before the Senate, compared to 56 percent of those who were satisfied with his work and 54 percent of those who were undecided on his record.

The survey also noted that support for the proposal was stronger among those with formal education.

Eighty-five percent of respondents who were high school graduates either “strongly” or “somewhat” agreed, compared to 82 percent among college graduates, 74 percent among elementary level graduates and 69 percent among those with some elementary education.

The survey had sampling error margins of plus or minus three percentage points for national and plus or minus six percentage points for area percentages.

Results of the survey were published in the newspaper BusinessWorld yesterday.

‘Farcical’ hearing

Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla, Binay’s spokesman for political concerns, maintained Binay has no plans of attending the “farcical” Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearing, adding that the senators conducting it have already prejudged the Vice President.

“It is futile for the Vice President to attend the farcical Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearing on the supposed overpricing of the Makati City Hall Building 2,” Remulla said in a statement.

“The Senate has prejudged Vice President Jojo Binay. Senator (Antonio) Trillanes IV has been brash about his prejudgment of the issue and blatant enough to say his objective is to bring down the survey ratings of the Vice President and even send the Vice President to jail,” Remulla said.

“Both he and Senator (Alan Peter) Cayetano accepted as gospel truth the unfounded claims of former Makati vice mayor Ernesto Mercado, and even moved that the latter be placed under the Witness Protection Program,” he added.

“And while they coddle Mercado, they lambast COA (Commission on Audit) auditors and other witnesses whose testimonies went against or even contradicted the senators’ well-rehearsed script,” he said.

Mercado accused Binay of receiving kickbacks and using dummies to hide his corporations and other properties.

“This reinforces our stand that the hearings are not in aid of legislation but in furtherance of political persecution. It would be futile for the Vice President to dignify such farcical proceedings and subject himself and his family to ridicule,” Remulla said.

He said there are other venues where the Vice President can address the “baseless” allegations.

“He is determined to bring the issues directly to the people, which he has been doing for the past weeks in visits to Mindanao, Zambales and Bataan,” he said. – With Delon Porcalla