President Arroyo's rating hits record low in Philippines
President Arroyo's rating hits record low in Philippines
Stuart Grudgings, Reuters/Manila
Support for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo slumped to a record
low for any Philippine leader in May, suggesting she has been
hurt by allegations linking her family to illegal gambling, an
opinion poll showed.
Senators this week started an inquiry into an illegal numbers
game, including allegations that Arroyo's husband, son, and
brother-in-law had received large pay-offs.
Analysts have said Arroyo's presidency is not at immediate
risk unless stronger evidence of the links emerges, but the
survey released late on Thursday by polling firm Social Weather
Stations showed the scandal may have already undermined her.
"There's a leadership vacuum right now. If she cannot turn it
around quite rapidly, other groups will arrive to fill up the
vacuum," political analyst Ramon Casiple told Reuters.
"It's not yet a crisis but she could be getting into that."
The president's popularity has been sinking since she won a
new term in May elections last year as Filipinos feel the pain of
high oil prices and worry about tax hikes pushed through by
Arroyo to cut the country's dependency on debt.
Analysts say Arroyo, a political blue-blood whose father was
president, also suffers from perceptions she is aloof and has
failed to stem rampant corruption.
Arroyo had a net satisfaction rating of minus 33 in May, down
from minus 12 in March, a record low for any president since
democracy was restored in 1986, the poll of 1,200 people showed.
The survey, conducted from May 14 to 23, found that only 26
percent of Filipinos were satisfied with her presidency, with 59
percent dissatisfied.
In a television interview on Thursday, Arroyo blamed her
unpopularity on high oil prices that have pushed up prices of
food and fuel, making life tougher for millions of poor.
"It comes from the doubling of oil prices in the world market
in the last year and a half," she said.
"Everyone blames me for the high oil prices. Everybody blames
me for the unemployment, and I can understand why."
The allegations about her family's links to the illegal
numbers game "jueteng" have threatened to drag her into a similar
scandal to the one that sparked mass protests and unseated her
predecessor Joseph Estrada in 2001.
The government has said the allegations are part of a plot by
the opposition, which is still loyal to the detained Estrada, to
undermine her presidency and spark another "people power" event.
Jueteng, estimated to be worth up to 30 billion pesos ($550
million) each year, is played daily by millions of poor
Filipinos. Critics say jueteng is fixed and that kickbacks from
operators corrupt the police, politicians and news media.