Social Climate
SWS surveys about FG
By Mahar Mangahas
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:20:00 03/01/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- Last week’s piece stated that the Net Trust rating of First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, a.k.a. “FG,” in the surveys of Social Weather Stations (SWS) started out at a decent +14 in January 2001, but fell to -8 when it was checked again the following September. In the next 18 SWS polls, his Net Trust was consistently a double-digit negative. Its average was -31 from January 2001 to September 2007.
Thus the FG has been steadily unpopular for seven years, almost from the start of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration, whereas his wife’s streak of negative numbers only began in the third quarter of 2004, a little over three years ago.
To accompany the FG’s numbers, I quote below from the chronology “Anomalies and controversies linked to First Gentleman ‘Mike’ Arroyo,” posted on Feb. 7, 2008 (http://www.gmanews.tv/print/79733).
“In July 2001, Veronica ‘Bing’ Rodrigo, former correspondence secretary and friend of President Arroyo, alleged that the First Gentleman received a P50-million bribe for the President to recall her veto of the franchise bills of the Philippine Communication Clearinghouse and APC Wireless Interface Network.” This was just before the FG’s first negative SWS rating of -8 in September 2001.
“In October 2001, Robert Rivero, axed consultant of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, alleged that First Gentleman Mike Arroyo used PCSO funds in the campaign of certain senatorial candidates and to bribe the media.” According to the November 2001 SWS survey, 41 percent of adult Filipinos had been following closely the news about the accusations against the FG. The FG’s Net Trust rating fell to -21, its first double-digit negative. Then it ranged from -16 to -34 during 2002.
Jose Pidal. In 2003, “[Sen. Panfilo] Lacson accused First Gentleman Arroyo of maintaining secret bank accounts to launder money from campaign contributions for the 1998 vice presidential bid of Gloria Arroyo. First Gentleman Arroyo denied the allegations. His brother, Ignacio ‘Iggy’ Arroyo took up the cudgels for him and claimed to be ‘Jose Pidal’ before clamming up and invoking his ‘right to privacy’ during a Senate investigation.”
According to the September 2003 SWS survey, 58 percent of adult Filipinos believed, and 35 percent disbelieved, the allegation that the FG had millions deposited in bank accounts under the names of other persons. The same survey found that 56 percent believed, and 37 percent disbelieved, the accusation that the FG had friends in government positions who gave him funds for political campaigns. The FG’s Net Trust rating was -35.
Two months later, the November 2003 SWS survey found that 46 percent had followed closely the news on Senator Lacson’s accusation that the FG had engaged in money-laundering. The same survey found public opinion leaning towards identifying FG as the real ‘Jose Pidal’: 40 percent agreed, 17 percent disagreed, and 38 percent were undecided. It found the FG’s Net Trust rating at -41.
‘Jueteng’ and ‘Hello, Garci’. In 2005, “witnesses at the Senate hearing on ‘jueteng’ [illegal numbers game] claimed that First Gentleman Arroyo received protection money for the illegal numbers game. The First Gentleman denied the allegations and left the country momentarily to help ‘remove distractions and doubts from people’s minds’ on President Arroyo’s ability to run the government. The Palace, then embattled with both the jueteng and ‘Hello, Garci’ controversies, dismissed the allegations against the First Gentleman as mere concoctions by those who wanted to oust the President.”
The Social Weather Survey of September 2005 found that only 30 percent felt that the President exiled the First Gentleman “in order to seriously address reforms needed by the country,” whereas 66 percent felt that she did it “just to remain in power.” The FG’s Net Trust rating of -48 was its record low as of that time.
The fertilizer scam. “In 2006, the Senate wrapped up a series of hearings on the fertilizer fund scam and concluded that First Gentleman Arroyo’s close friend and fellow Makati Rotarian, Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn ‘Joc-Joc’ Bolante diverted agricultural funds to the 2004 electoral campaign of President Arroyo.
“Later that year, then opposition Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano claimed that a member of the Arroyo family maintained a bank account in Germany amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. First Gentleman Arroyo flew to Germany and secured a certification from the bank to disprove Cayetano’s claims. Upon his return, he sought [unsuccessfully—Mangahas] Cayetano’s expulsion from Congress.”
In 2006, the FG’s Net Trust ratings were -39 in March, -38 in June, -41 in September, and -38 in November.
The new record low. After Jose “Joey” de Venecia III had testified at the Senate that the FG told him to “back off” from the ZTE national broadband network (NBN) deal, the SWS survey of December 2007 found only 13 percent trusting the FG, compared to 64 percent distrusting him, or a new record low Net Trust of -51.
In December 2007, distrust in FG was highest in Metro Manila (net -66), followed by Balance of Luzon (net -56), Mindanao (net -49), and Visayas (net -35). Distrust was very much higher among the ABC classes (net -65), compared to the lower-class Ds (net -49) and Es (-50).
As of now, given the February 2008 testimony at the Senate of Rodolfo Noel “Jun” Lozada Jr. linking the FG to the ZTE-NBN deal, it seems unlikely that the FG’s survey numbers will improve very soon.
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Contact SWS: www.sws.org.ph or mahar.mangahas@sws.org.ph.
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