RP leader returns to grassroots

RP leader returns to grassroots

By Martin Abbugao

MANILA (AFP): On a recent visit to Manila's most famous slum district, President Joseph Estrada ordered presidential guards to push aside iron sawhorses that separated him from a horde of adoring fans.

"Remove the obstacles, why are we afraid of the people," he barked, as children and residents surged to press flesh, shouting "Erap, Erap," the nickname that has endeared the Filipino leader, a former movie star, to millions.

Besieged by a slipping popularity ratings after only 21 months in office, Estrada is returning to the grassroots to reclaim some lost ground amid a barrage of criticisms about the seemingly lack of direction in his leadership and alleged shady deals reportedly involving some of his friends.

An alleged share manipulation scandal in which a close Estrada friend faces possible criminal charges has pushed the Philippine Stock Exchange into becoming the regional laggard.

"You know, I am not used to being far away from the people ... I will never forget that you were the ones who put me into the presidency," Estrada said in a speech Monday, reciting a familiar line.

College dropout Estrada eased through a landslide victory in the 1998 presidential elections, beating six rivals with far better educational background, thanks to an immense popularity built up from his movie career and political experience as a town mayor, senator and vice president.

But with barely a third of his six-year term behind him, Estrada has seen his approval ratings plummet.

"The issue is really the performance of the Estrada administration or the lack of it," said his predecessor and key critic Fidel Ramos.

In the latest survey conducted March 15-29, independent pollster Pulse Asia Inc. said Estrada's approval rating fell four percentage points to 49 percent from 53 percent in December. It has been on a steady decline from 74 percent in May 1999.

Polling firm Social Weather Stations said Estrada had a virtually-unchanged public approval rating of 43 percent last month.

As a fledgling protest movement was launched earlier this month urging him to "shape up or ship out," the 63 year-old president began his own offensive in an apparent bid to project an image of a hands-on leader.

All in a day last week, Estrada unusually fired off directives shooting down an unpopular proposal barring cars for a day into traffic-choked metropolitan Manila and ordering the highways minister to clean roads of traffic obstructions.

Another order banned trikes and buses without franchises from major streets.

Underlining his seriousness in battling graft, Estrada summoned reporters last week to announce he wanted charges of plunder filed against executives of two major oil firms involved in a tax credit scam.

Plunder carries the death penalty in the Philippines if the amount embezzled was 50 million pesos (US$1.2 million) or more.

In an unscheduled trip also last week, the president flew to Mindoro island south of Manila to condole with, and give out financial assistance to families of seven people killed by two drunken soldiers.

Amid a glare of publicity, Estrada took time as well to visit a sprawling former dump site in suburban Manila, announcing an anti-poverty program with a promise of land titles to squatter families.

Benito Lim, a professor for Asian studies at the University of the Philippines, said Estrada's performance would be judged ultimately on his government's programs in fields such as mass housing and in dealing with the Muslim separatist rebellion.

"If his programs are good, even if the surveys say that people don't like him, the people will say that is not true," he said.

Chief presidential aide Ronaldo Zamora said Estrada needed to "press more flesh" with the public in an indication of more such people-friendly visits to come.

Estrada has rejected suggestions that he change his controversial leadership style, which includes using street-level language against critics.

"They want to reinvent me. I call that reverse dictatorship. I have a right to be what I want to be and to be what I am," Estrada told heads of the American chambers of commerce in the region at a meeting late Friday.

In his visit to the slum area on Monday, Estrada told his audience: "Do not forget that Erap, until his death, will be for the upliftment of the poor."