Palace on GMA survey ratings: No way to go but up

Malacañang shrugged off yesterday survey results showing that over half of Filipinos want President Arroyo to resign for alleged cheating in last year’s elections, saying "there is nowhere to go but up."

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye reiterated his belief that negative sentiments about Mrs. Arroyo had bottomed out and that other surveys had shown a slight improvement in her public opinion ratings.

"There is nowhere the trend will go but up, especially with the economy on a roll. Nevertheless, we will not be perturbed or distracted by negative survey results that have shown to be highly fluid and transient," he said.

Bunye said the "media hype" generated by such surveys would not obstruct Mrs. Arroyo’s plans and her administration’s focus on what should be done to solve the country’s problems.

"The pull and tug of surveys will always cause some media hype but this is not what is at the top of people’s minds," Bunye said. "We realize only too well that adverse public sentiments weigh heavily against a President making the tough decisions to fix up the economy."

He instead tried to focus attention on the economy’s performance, saying the bottom line is to keep the country’s fragile economy going forward.

Despite the public’s reported dissatisfaction with the political crisis and Mrs. Arroyo’s handling of it, Bunye said Filipinos "will follow the leader who delivers and they will work to preserve their gains."

As he has in the past, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita emphasized that many world leaders — including US President George Bush, who continues to defend his decision to occupy Iraq — suffer low public approval ratings.

"That is why what we should do is just concentrate on doing what’s good for the nation," Ermita said.

Based on the Oct. 15-27 Pulse Asia survey, over half of Filipinos believe the President should resign and be replaced over allegations that she cheated in last year’s presidential election but few agreed on how this should be done.

The survey also found no clear consensus as to who the political alternative to Mrs. Arroyo should be.

Nearly six out of every 10 Filipinos, or 58 percent of 1,200 Filipinos surveyed nationwide, said that an Arroyo resignation would be the "most beneficial political scenario" to end the political crisis.

But there is no clear agreement on how they want the five-month-old crisis to be resolved.

Mrs. Arroyo has been fighting accusations of poll fraud since June after the opposition released audiotapes allegedly of her phone conversations with an election official during the presidential vote count.

She denies rigging the election outcome. Her allies in the House of Representatives quashed an impeachment complaint against her in September, leading to a protracted battle with the opposition, of which Estrada is the de facto leader.

About half of Filipinos, or 52 percent, believe that Mrs. Arroyo cheated in the May 2004 vote, the Pulse Asia survey found. — With Aurea Calica