EDITORIAL - Eye-opener

Survey results, which are based on perceptions, can be way off the mark. The latest one, on perceptions of corruption under different Philippine presidents, was commissioned by a member of the political opposition. Pollster Pulse Asia and the one who commissioned the survey, former senator Sergio Osmeña III, insisted yesterday that they did not try to influence the responses of 1,200 people nationwide who participated in the survey on corruption-related issues.

The survey was taken in October, at the height of several corruption scandals rocking the administration, including the $329-million national broadband deal that was later scrapped. With most Filipinos aware of the scandals, results of surveys commissioned by anyone during the same period would have likely yielded the same results: Filipinos considered Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the most corrupt Philippine president.

If eyebrows were raised, it was mainly because the President was rated worse than Ferdinand Marcos and even the chief executive she replaced amid a massive corruption scandal, Joseph Estrada. Corazon Aquino was deemed the least corrupt among the post-Marcos presidents, followed by Fidel Ramos.

At least one Malacañang official blamed media play-up of the latest corruption scandals for the Pres-ident’s ranking. Some administration officials could not resist pointing out that the survey was commissioned by a member of the opposition. The observation elicited this reply from Osmeña: Does anyone have a problem with that?

Other Palace officials opted for the more prudent comment: the survey results were an eye-opener for the administration. They insisted that the administration is moving to address corruption. But the effort has obviously not been enough. This is not the first survey that has given the administration poor marks in dealing with corruption, though this one probably hurts most for President Arroyo because of comparisons with her predecessors including Marcos. International surveys have consistently ranked the Philippines low in terms of transparency. Regardless of who commissions surveys on corruption, the best government response is to deal decisively with the problem.