Poll: 47% of Pinoys believe CJ is guilty

MANILA, Philippines – Almost half of the Filipino population believes Chief Justice Renato Corona is guilty of the charges filed against him at the Senate impeachment court, a recent survey by Pulse Asia showed.

The survey showed 47 percent of the respondents said Corona is guilty while only five percent said they believe he is innocent of the charges. Forty-three percent said they could not say if Corona is guilty or not.

The survey was conducted among 1,200 respondents from Feb. 26 to March 9. It was completed while the impeachment court was in recess after 26 days of trial.

At least 33 percent of the respondents said Corona is “probably guilty” while 15 percent said he is “definitely guilty.”

Four percent said the Chief Justice is “probably innocent” and one percent said he is “definitely innocent.”

Fifty-four percent of the respondents in Mindanao said they believe the Chief Justice is guilty, 50 percent in the National Capital Region, 48 percent in the rest of Luzon and 37 percent in the Visayas.

Sixty six percent of those who said they believe Corona is guilty and 64 percent who said he is innocent said they formed their opinion during the trial.

About eight in ten Filipinos (84 percent) said they follow the impeachment trial of Corona, while 56 percent admitted they know little about it.

Majority said they are monitoring developments through television – 80 percent at the national level, 67 to 84 percent across geographic areas and 70 to 88 percent across socio-economic groupings.

Lack of interest was cited for those who said they are not monitoring the trial – among the Class E (24 percent) and the Visayas (25 percent).

Sixty-seven percent said they have “little to no knowledge” of the impeachment case; 56 percent said they have “a little knowledge” and 11 percent said they have “almost none or no knowledge at all.”

Only 33 percent said they have a “great deal to sufficient knowledge”; 24 percent said “not a great deal but a sufficient amount”; and eight percent said they have a “great deal of knowledge.”

‘Filipinos will accept or respect Senate’s decision’

The survey also showed that 58 percent of Filipinos believe their countrymen would accept and respect whatever would be the Senate’s decision on the impeachment case of Corona.

It was the majority sentiment in every socio-economic class (53 to 63 percent) and almost all geographic areas (53 to 68 percent).

Respondents in the Visayas, however, said only 40 percent of Filipinos would accept the decision, while 41 percent said Filipinos would accept and respect only the decision that they favor.

The poll also showed that nearly seven in 10 Filipinos (69 percent) said they expect the senators to be fair and impartial in the performance of their duty as judges in the impeachment trial.

On the other hand, 22 percent said the senator-judges would not be fair. Nine percent of the respondents said they “don’t know.”

Pulse Asia said the public is divided on whether the House of Representatives fast-tracked the impeachment process.

Thirty eight percent of the respondents said they do think the congressmen fast-tracked the process while 32 percent of Filipinos have a contrary opinion. Twenty nine percent were undecided.

A near majority of Metro Manilans (46 percent) said the impeachment process at the House was fast-tracked, while 44 percent in the rest of Luzon said otherwise.

In the Visayas, almost the same percentages either expressed ambivalence or did not believe that the impeachment of Corona was hastily done (44 versus 32 percent). –Helen Flores (The Philippine Star)