SWS: Pinoys have higher expectations of Aquino than of Arroyo

Filipinos have higher initial expectations of President Benigno Aquino III than of his predecessor Gloria Arroyo when she first assumed power in 2001, according to a new survey by pollster Social Weather Stations.

The survey, conducted from September 24 to 27, but the results of which were posted on the SWS website Wednesday, also found high expectations of Aquino to keep his promises and to serve the poor.

“It found 44% expecting Pres. Noynoy Aquino to keep most/all of his promises in his July 26, 2010 State of the Nation Address (SONA), compared to only 19% who expected Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to keep most/all of her promises in her July 23, 2001 SONA, based on the September 2001 survey,” the SWS said.

The pollster’s September 2010 survey found 78 percent awareness of Aquino’s SONA, compared to 44 percent of Mrs. Arroyo’s in 2001.

It also found 48 percent saying Aquino is serving the interest of the poor, compared to only 25 percent in 2001 and 19 percent in 2007 who said Arroyo was serving the poor.

Awareness of SONA

The September 2010 survey found that 78 percent were aware of Aquino’s July 2010 SONA, compared to September 2001 when 44 percent paid attention to Arroyo’s July 2001 SONA.

On Aquino’s SONA, 56 percent watched it live on television, 15 percent heard about it on TV, 9 percent heard about it from other people, 8 percent listened to it live on radio, 5 percent heard about it on radio, 3 percent read about it on the newspapers, and a few (0.1 percent) learned about it on the Internet.

In 2001, 25 percent watched Arroyo’s SONA live on television, 12 percent heard about it on TV, 6 percent heard about it on radio, 5 percent listened to it live on radio, 4 percent read about it on the newspapers, and 2 percent heard about it from other people.

Aquino’s promises

The SWS posed the question, “Sa inyong palagay, ilan sa mga pangako ni Pang. Noynoy Aquino ang posibleng matutupad?” (In your opinion, how many of the promises of Pres. Noynoy Aquino can be fulfilled?)

Out of the total number of respondents, 9 percent replied “LAHAT O HALOS LAHAT SA MGA PANGAKO” (all or nearly all promises); 35 percent said “KARAMIHAN SA MGA PANGAKO” (most promises), 50 percent said “MGA ILAN SA MGA PANGAKO” (a few of the promises), and 4 percent said “HALOS WALA O WALA SA MGA PANGAKO” (none or almost none of the promises).

This compares to 2001 when 5 percent said all or nearly all, 14 percent most, 64 percent a few, and 16 percent almost none of Pres. Arroyo’s promises in her SONA can be fulfilled.

Serving the poor

To the question, “Sa inyo pong palagay, si Pang. Noynoy Aquino po ba ay napagsisilbihan ang interes ng mga MAYAYAMAN, KALAGITNAANG ANTAS NG LIPUNAN, o ang mga MAHIHIRAP?” (Do you think Pres. Noynoy Aquino is serving the interests of the RICH, the MIDDLE CLASS, or the POOR?): 48 percent said President Aquino is serving the poor, 55 percent said the middle class, and 23 percent said the rich. The percentages do not add up to 100 percent because multiple responses were allowed.

Of the 1,200 survey respondents, 44 percent said President Aquino’s programs are geared towards serving poor Filipinos.

The SWS likewise said that there is “higher expectation from President Aquino to serve the people equitably,” as compared to only 25 percent of Filipinos who said in the 2001 survey that the past administration served the interest of the poor during its first few months in office.

One in every two respondents (55 percent), meanwhile, said that the Aquino administration is serving the interest of the middle class, while 23 percent said it is serving the interest of rich Filipinos.

On the other hand, those who said Arroyo was serving the interest of the poor went down from 25 percent in 2003 to 19 percent in 2007.

Those who said she was serving the middle class went down from 33 percent to 31 percent, while those who said she was serving the rich also went down from 65 percent to 59 percent.

The September 2010 Social Weather Survey was conducted from September 24 to 27, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon (Luzon minus Metro Manila), Visayas, and Mindanao.

Sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages and ±6% for area percentages applied to the survey.

The SWS surveys of 2001, 2003, and 2007 were conducted from September 1-18, 2001, August 30-September 14, 2003, and September 2-5, 2007, respectively. All surveys had sample sizes of 1,200 adults, for error margins of ±3%. — with a report by Andreo Calonzo/LBG/JV, GMANews.TV