RP leader returns to grassroots<\/p>\n
By Martin Abbugao<\/p>\n
MANILA (AFP): On a recent visit to Manila's most famous slum
\ndistrict, President Joseph Estrada ordered presidential guards to
\npush aside iron sawhorses that separated him from a horde of
\nadoring fans.<\/p>\n
\"Remove the obstacles, why are we afraid of the people,\" he
\nbarked, as children and residents surged to press flesh, shouting
\n\"Erap, Erap,\" the nickname that has endeared the Filipino leader,
\na former movie star, to millions.<\/p>\n
Besieged by a slipping popularity ratings after only 21 months
\nin office, Estrada is returning to the grassroots to reclaim some
\nlost ground amid a barrage of criticisms about the seemingly lack
\nof direction in his leadership and alleged shady deals reportedly
\ninvolving some of his friends.<\/p>\n
An alleged share manipulation scandal in which a close Estrada
\nfriend faces possible criminal charges has pushed the Philippine
\nStock Exchange into becoming the regional laggard.<\/p>\n
\"You know, I am not used to being far away from the people ...
\nI will never forget that you were the ones who put me into the
\npresidency,\" Estrada said in a speech Monday, reciting a familiar
\nline.<\/p>\n
College dropout Estrada eased through a landslide victory in
\nthe 1998 presidential elections, beating six rivals with far
\nbetter educational background, thanks to an immense popularity
\nbuilt up from his movie career and political experience as a town
\nmayor, senator and vice president.<\/p>\n
But with barely a third of his six-year term behind him,
\nEstrada has seen his approval ratings plummet.<\/p>\n
\"The issue is really the performance of the Estrada
\nadministration or the lack of it,\" said his predecessor and key
\ncritic Fidel Ramos.<\/p>\n
In the latest survey conducted March 15-29, independent
\npollster Pulse Asia Inc. said Estrada's approval rating fell four
\npercentage points to 49 percent from 53 percent in December. It
\nhas been on a steady decline from 74 percent in May 1999.<\/p>\n
Polling firm Social Weather Stations said Estrada had a
\nvirtually-unchanged public approval rating of 43 percent last
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
As a fledgling protest movement was launched earlier this
\nmonth urging him to \"shape up or ship out,\" the 63 year-old
\npresident began his own offensive in an apparent bid to project
\nan image of a hands-on leader.<\/p>\n
All in a day last week, Estrada unusually fired off directives
\nshooting down an unpopular proposal barring cars for a day into
\ntraffic-choked metropolitan Manila and ordering the highways
\nminister to clean roads of traffic obstructions.<\/p>\n
Another order banned trikes and buses without franchises from
\nmajor streets.<\/p>\n
Underlining his seriousness in battling graft, Estrada
\nsummoned reporters last week to announce he wanted charges of
\nplunder filed against executives of two major oil firms involved
\nin a tax credit scam.<\/p>\n
Plunder carries the death penalty in the Philippines if the
\namount embezzled was 50 million pesos (US$1.2 million) or more.<\/p>\n
In an unscheduled trip also last week, the president flew to
\nMindoro island south of Manila to condole with, and give out
\nfinancial assistance to families of seven people killed by two
\ndrunken soldiers.<\/p>\n
Amid a glare of publicity, Estrada took time as well to visit
\na sprawling former dump site in suburban Manila, announcing an
\nanti-poverty program with a promise of land titles to squatter
\nfamilies.<\/p>\n
Benito Lim, a professor for Asian studies at the University of
\nthe Philippines, said Estrada's performance would be judged
\nultimately on his government's programs in fields such as mass
\nhousing and in dealing with the Muslim separatist rebellion.<\/p>\n
\"If his programs are good, even if the surveys say that people
\ndon't like him, the people will say that is not true,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Chief presidential aide Ronaldo Zamora said Estrada needed to
\n\"press more flesh\" with the public in an indication of more such
\npeople-friendly visits to come.<\/p>\n
Estrada has rejected suggestions that he change his
\ncontroversial leadership style, which includes using street-level
\nlanguage against critics.<\/p>\n
\"They want to reinvent me. I call that reverse dictatorship. I
\nhave a right to be what I want to be and to be what I am,\"
\nEstrada told heads of the American chambers of commerce in the
\nregion at a meeting late Friday.<\/p>\n
In his visit to the slum area on Monday, Estrada told his
\naudience: \"Do not forget that Erap, until his death, will be for
\nthe upliftment of the poor.\"<\/p>",
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