Marcos, some House members not buying Pulse findings this time
MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos and some House members played down the significance of three recent Pulse Asia surveys where the findings proved unflattering to the administration and favorable to the Dutertes.
Speaking to reporters covering his trip to Kuala Lumpur, the President dismissed a Pulse survey showing his trust rating at 32 percent, way lower than former President Rodrigo Duterte’s 63 percent and Vice President Sara Duterte’s 50 percent.
“There are many other survey firms. Let’s not base it on one,” Marcos said on Tuesday before flying back to Manila after attending the leaders’ summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
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“Let’s look at other surveys. Know your source. Imperfect information makes you make imperfect decisions. The more perfect your information, the more perfect your decision will be. That is one source of information, and you have to understand where it’s actually coming from,” he said.
On impeachment trial
Two House members also questioned the results of another Pulse survey, one showing that half of Filipinos disagree with the impeachment case filed against the Vice President.
In separate interviews, 1-Rider Rep. Rodge Gutierrez and Iloilo Rep. Lorenz Defensor said pollsters taking the public pulse sometimes get it wrong, as shown by the results of the May 12 senatorial race, where supposed front-runners lost slots to candidates who consistently lagged in preelection surveys.
Gutierrez and Defensors are both members of the 11-member House prosecution panel in Sara Duterte’s upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate.
“In relation to the prosecution, personally I can’t speak for everyone else, but we have to take it with a grain of salt,” said Gutierrez.
“We are unbothered,” Defensor said. “I agree that the Vice President has many supporters, and that’s one of the reasons why we want to speed up the trial and conclude this impeachment process as soon as possible.”
Both lawmakers also pointed out that survey results would have nothing to do with the weight of the evidence to be presented in the impeachment trial.
“We want to see a closure on the part of the supporters of the Vice President as well as a closure on the part of those who feel that she should be convicted and removed from office for violation of the Constitution,” he added.
Blame it on ‘disinfo’
For outgoing ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, “the supposed survey results showing that 58 percent of Filipinos disagree with (Rodrigo) Duterte’s arrest is a glaring example of how disinformation can distort public opinion.”
“This reflects the impact of the widespread propaganda and fake news machinery that has been systematically built to whitewash Rodrigo Duterte’s crimes against humanity,” she said.
Castro’s colleague, incoming ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, said “It is crucial that we counter this narrative with the truth.’’
The Duterte administration’s war on drugs claimed the lives of thousands of Filipinos—officially 6,000, according to government data, but human rights groups estimate the number to be as high as 30,000. Each one of these lives matter, and each one demands justice.” —with reports from Julie M. Aurelio, Krixia Subingsubing, and Jeannette I. Andrade
