Filipinos want a fair trial, says survey

Two findings highlighted the March 2012 survey of Pulse Asia on the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona: First, nearly 7 in 10 Filipinos (69 percent) expect the senators to be fair and impartial in the performance of their duties as judges when they decide on the impeachment case; second, 58 percent think that Filipinos will accept and respect the Senate impeachment court’s decision, whether most of the people like it or not.

These findings augur well for a non-turbulent outcome of the trial, barring a disruption of the impeachment process. They indicate that most of the people have been impressed by the way the trial was conducted in its initial stages, that the people have been given a demonstration that institutional approaches (such as the impeachment court) to right the wrongs of governance are working, and that the people now seem disposed to accept a fair outcome of the trial on the basis of evidence. This is a positive development of the trial.

These two issues are closely related to each other, meaning that the second is premised on the people’s perception that the trial is fair—a condition that is all-important to the acceptance of the outcome (the verdict). The first finding represents the majority sentiment in all geographic areas (63 percent to 74 percent) and socioeconomic groupings (66 percent to 71 percent). Only 22 percent say the senator-judges will not be fair—a view more pronounced in Mindanao  (30 percent ) than in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon  (18 percent to 19 percent). Less than 1 in 10 Filipinos is undecided.

The second finding (acceptance of the verdict) is also shared by majorities in all geographic areas (53 percent to 68 percent) and every socioeconomic class (53 percent to 63 percent). The  Visayas is the exception, where only 40 percent say that whatever decision is made by the Senate, whether the majority of Filipinos like it or not, will be respected and accepted by them, with 41 percent saying that most Filipinos will accept only the decision that they favor. Nationwide, 34 percent of Filipinos say that most Filipinos will accept and  respect only the decision that they favor.

The survey was conducted from Feb. 26 to March 9, before the defense presented its evidence in the impeachment court. The trial started on Jan 16. The two findings cited above mirror public confidence in the impeachment process, where the presiding judge and several of the senator-judges demonstrably tried hard to conduct a fair trial and evenhandedness according to the rules of court. The results on the above issues have been less controversial than the other results of the survey. For instance, public opinion is split on whether or not members of the House of Representatives fast-tracked the impeachment process. While 38 percent of Filipinos do not think members of the House fast-tracked the impeachment of Corona, 32 percent say otherwise. Twenty percent of Filipinos are undecided. Forty-six percent of Manilans say the impeachment process was fast-tracked in the House, while 44 percent in the rest of Luzon believe otherwise.

While 47 percent of  Filipinos think Corona is guilty of the charges filed against him, 43 percent are undecided. Only 5 percent believe he is innocent. Another 5 percent say they did not have enough basis to make a decision.

Sixty-six percent of the respondents who say Corona is guilty formed their opinion in the course of the trial, while 34 percent say their opinion was formed even before the trial began. Among the regions, Mindanao accounted for the biggest percentage of the respondents (54 percent) who found Corona guilty. Corona was also found guilty by the majority of those in the ABC socioeconomic class (53 percent), which is made up of the affluent and middle class, presumably the educated and best-informed citizens.

Half of the respondents in Metro Manila, the best informed and most exposed to the mass media, say Corona is guilty. The guilty opinion is shared by 48 percent of respondents in the rest of Luzon, 37 percent in the Visayas, 48 percent among Class D, and 45 percent among Class E, with both classes embracing the poor and the poorest.

Those who say Corona is innocent are broken down as follows: 1 percent among Class ABC, 3 percent among Class E and in the rest of Luzon, 4 percent in Metro Manila, and the Visayas; 6 percent among Class D and 9 percent in Mindanao. Most Filipinos (84 percent) followed developments in the trial, with 80 percent following developments through television and 12 percent through radio. Only 4 percent got their information on the trial from newspapers and 1 percent from the Internet.

It is not clear whether or not the evidence presented by the prosecution prior to the presentation of the defense and the heavy demolition campaign staged by the President outside the court influenced the results of  the poll survey showing that 47 percent of the respondents hold Corona guilty. However, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the presiding judge, was far from impressed. He said the evidence, and not poll surveys, would decide the guilt or innocence of Corona.

“I will look at the evidence. If we use surveys to convict or not to convict a person charged in the courts, then we don’t need courts. All we have to do is conduct surveys whenever somebody is charged,” Enrile said.

He said he was not preoccupied with surveys because the job of the impeachment court was to administer justice.

Clearly, the critical message of the survey is: Most Filipinos want a fair trial, nothing less.