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.