Trust soars in new Philippine president

Trust soars in new Philippine president

MANILA (AGENCIES): Philippine President Gloria Arroyo's trust ratings have bounced back since she took power in a bloodless, military-backed popular uprising last month, an independent survey said Saturday.

However, trust in her fallen predecessor Joseph Estrada predictably dropped, according to the Pulse Asia poll of 346 people in the capital on January 26.

Taken shortly after Arroyo was installed in power, the survey found her net trust rating had risen to 14 percent from a negative 44 percent six days earlier.

The rate is calculated by counting the number of those who trust her minus those who do not.

"What we are seeing now is the biggest improvement in the public's trust for any official," Pulse Asia president Felipe Miranda said.

Estrada's trust rating fell to negative 20 percent from negative 16 percent on January 20.

The change in the ratings came after Estrada, who was engulfed in a growing corruption scandal, was toppled on January 20 paving the way for then-vice president Arroyo to take his place.

Despite the unconventional way Arroyo took power, almost 60 percent of Manila residents considered her installation legal and constitutional, according to the survey.

Fifty-five percent of respondents also said they believed she enjoyed the support of the majority of Filipinos.

Despite his fall from power, Estrada emerged from seclusion on Wednesday to declare he still considered himself president, and that Arroyo was only acting in a temporary capacity.

This has raised concerns that he and his party allies will mount legal challenges to the Arroyo presidency.

However, the government is tightening the legal net around Estrada with a little help from his former cronies, and a concerted push from private lawyers and citizens' groups.

Justice Secretary Hernando Perez said on Friday that the government would file three plunder cases against Estrada in 10 days, including two built around evidence offered by his friend and businessman Mark Jimenez.

Citizens and lawyers groups have filed a further six graft, corruption and plunder complaints with the ombudsman.

Estrada has denied all the allegations but a finding of probable cause by the ombudsman, the anti-graft agency that prosecutes cases, would be enough to ensure his detention, pending trial by the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court.

Arroyo's favorable ratings in the survey come after similar results were released earlier this week by another respected independent group.

A survey of 300 Manila residents on Jan. 27 by Social Weather Stations found Arroyo's trust rating had rebounded to 21 percent from minus 34 percent in the first week of January.

Meanwhile, Estrada's ratings slumped to minus 18 percent from minus one percent in the same survey.

That survey also found about 53 percent accepted the January 20 transition and that about 50 percent expected Arroyo to "do a better job" than her scandal-ridden predecessor.

Sixty-five percent said they believed Estrada's ousting by a military-backed popular revolt was "just", and 72 percent wanted him to stand trial for alleged massive corruption.

While Arroyo has largely brushed aside Estrada's challenges to her legitimacy, she has also been trying to cement her hold on power.

She has met with groups that once supported Estrada and repeatedly praised the military and police for switching their support to her.

There have been rumors of destabilization plots brewing against the Arroyo administration, possibly to re-install Estrada.

Forthcoming legislative and local elections on May 14 are widely seen as a proxy battle between Arroyo and Estrada.