NEWSFLASH
ERAP SHOULD NOT RESIGN -- SURVEY
Manila, Oct. 16, 2000 - An independent opinion poll shows most Filipinos still believe that Mr. Estrada should not resign.
According to a Pulse Asia survey conducted only last Friday, 53 percent of 397 respondents polled in Metro Manila disagreed that Mr. Estrada should step down, while 31 percent agreed that he should. Sixteen percent were undecided. The survey had a margin of error of five percentage points.
Pulse Asia president Felipe Miranda said the poll showed many Filipinos were "not ready for President Estrada to resign now and that they are still giving him the benefit of the doubt."
Thirty-eight percent of the respondents said they still trusted the President, while 29 percent of them said they had very little trust. Thirty-one percent were undecided.
But the numbers were close when it came to credibility. Twenty-six percent felt Mr. Estrada’s accuser, Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, was more credible, compared to 23 percent for Mr. Estrada. The remaining 52 percent could not make up their minds.
Curiously, despite the vote of confidence for Mr. Estrada, the Pulse Asia poll revealed a huge distrust for one of his friends, Charlie "Atong" Ang.
Only eight percent of the respondents said they trust Ang very much, while 57 percent said they have very little trust. Twenty-eight percent were undecided.
As for Mr. Estrada’s former friend and nemesis, 21 percent said they trust Singson, 46 percent said they have very little trust, and 30 percent were undecided.
Forty-five percent said they trust Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin who had urged the President to resign 28 percent said they have very little trust, and 27 percent were undecided.
Although the poll was limited to Metro Manila, Miranda said the survey would reflect the mood in the provinces because the nation’s capital has always been the "most critical" of the government.
Pulse Asia will conduct a nationwide poll on the controversy, which Miranda estimated will take about a month.
No one commissioned the survey, Miranda said. They conducted the poll on their own, he said, to ensure that it would be above suspicion, and to get a picture of how people were taking the controversy the most serious to rock Mr. Estrada’s 28-month presidency.
A cutaway view of the figures reveals that Mr. Estrada still has the support of the poor, who largely voted for him in the 1998 elections, but not that of the upper classes of Filipino society, who were the most critical of Mr. Estrada.
Broken down into social classes, 43 percent of the A, B and C classes which comprise 27 percent of the 397 survey respondents agreed that the President should step down, 46 percent disagreed, and 11 percent were undecided.
Fifty-four percent of the D class which comprise 53 percent of the survey respondents said Mr. Estrada should stay on, 27 percent said he should go, and 18 percent were undecided.
Fifty-nine percent of the E class comprising 20 percent of the respondents said Mr. Estrada should not resign, 26 percent said he should and 15 percent could not make up their mind.
Asked if Mr. Estrada or Singson were more credible, 42 percent of the A, B and C classes chose Singson, 22 percent chose Mr. Estrada, 36 percent were undecided.
Twenty-two percent of the D class said Mr. Estrada was more credible, but 22 percent also felt Singson was more credible, and 56 were undecided.
Only 11 percent of the E class felt Singson was more credible as opposed to 26 percent for Mr. Estrada. Sixty-three percent were undecided.
Miranda said people in the A, B and C classes are the moneyed and educated. Although comprising a small percentage of the population, Miranda said, these segments of society are very influential because most of them are in business.
He said they were "traditionally" the most critical of President Estrada because they have plenty to lose.
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