The sharp decline of the public trust in media based on the findings of 2019 Philippine Trust Index survey is not surprising but something to be concerned of.
Media is essential in a democracy. There is no democracy where and when media is not free.
Media strengthens democracy by informing the people of what is happening as truthfully as it can be ascertained. In doing so, the people can hold accountable the officials for all their actions and decisions. Media plays a vital role in making democracy truly a government of the people, for the people and by the people.
Grace Poe in San Pablo cityNext week’s surveys should give us a clearer picture of the sentiments of the Filipino voters.
By then, we would know whose campaign is struggling from collapsing and whose campaign is pulling away.
The latest surveys that we got this week (Pulse Asia for ABS-CBN) which put Grace Poe leading (28 percent) with just a few percentage points over Rodrigo Duterte (24 percent), who dislodged Jejomar Binay (21 percent) in the second place and Mar Roxas closely following with 20 percent, was conducted a few days before the Supreme Court declared that Poe is qualified to run for the presidency of the Philippines.
Binay’s office released this photo to prove that he was not booed in the Sinulog celebration in CebuThe “Eliminate Grace Poe” from the presidential race crusade has benefitted Vice President Jejomar Binay who has regained the lead in the latest survey of candidates for president in the 2016 elections by the Social Weather Stations.
Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas, whose allies in the Commission on Election delivered the strongest blow against Poe, has gained from it a little because he is now in a statistical tie with Poe and another candidate, Rodrigo Duterte. But it doesn’t bring him closer to the presidency because Binay is pulling away.
By helping destroy Poe, Roxas is delivering the presidency to Binay.
Grace PoeIf Pres. Aquino believes the strategy that if Mar Roxas’ lawyers in Comelec succeeds in eliminating Grace Poe from the presidential race, the presidency would be an easy clinch for his anointed, he is dreaming.
If the fight is three-way – Rodrigo Duterte, Jojo Binay and Roxas, Duterte will win.
If it’s between Binay and Roxas, Binay will win.
If it’s between Duterte and Roxas, Duterte will win.
He should take a look at the latest nationwide survey by the Magdalo Group conducted last Dec. 9- 11 among 2,914 respondents. It has a margin of error of 1.8 percent.
Pres. Aquino with LP candidates Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo being prayed over at the Tarlac First Baptist Church. (Photo by Joseph Vidal, Malacanang)
Candidates for the 2016 May elections, especially those running for president and vice-president, should read the findings of the EON’s 2015 Philippine Trust Survey which tells that Filipinos want from their leaders to listen to and feel for them.
The PTI, which EON started in 2011, is not an easy survey to do because unlike other surveys that ask who they would vote for in the next election, trust is an abstract thing. One has to give it to EON for coming up with a formula to measure the public’s insights and opinions.
In the PTI survey, respondents were asked to share their opinions on six key Philippine institutions – the Government, the Business Sector, the Media, Non-Governmental Organizations, the Church, and the Academe.
The nationwide survey interviewed 1,620 Filipinos from July to August 2015. They are referred to in the survey as “General Public.” EON said an additional 420 screened respondents were also added to come up with 600 respondents referred to in the survey as “Informed Public.”
The Informed Public respondents “are Filipinos who are at least college graduates and who access media for news at least thrice a week,” EON said.
In the survey results, the Informed Public is less approving of the institutions than the General Public.
Surveys if conducted by professionals and executed with integrity are gauge of the sentiments of the people.
I have to stress “executed with integrity” because during election season, there are surveys and surveys. One has to check on the background of the survey firms, who commissioned the survey as well as the questions asked.
Grace PoeAs Sen. Grace Poe said, thanking her supporters for their trust that put her as the frontrunner among presidential aspirants, “Surveys help us check if we’re on the right track.”
But she said, “We derive our inspiration from the needs and aspirations of our country, with or without surveys.”
Poe declared her presidential candidacy for the 2016 elections last Sept. 16. The next day, fellow senator who is also known as her mentor, Chiz Escudero, announced that he is Poe’s running mate.
It’s not only Sen. Grace Poe who surged as shown in the results of Pulse Asia’s survey of the people’s pulse for the 2016 elections conducted two weeks ago.
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said he is happy that his score increased by 150 percent! From four percent last March which put him in seventh place, he is now number four with 10 percent. He tied with former President and now Manila mayor Joseph Estrada.
That’s a classic example of looking at the glass half full.
Sen. Grace Poe reveals findings of Senate committee that investigated Mamasapano tragedy.Reading President Aquino’s speech before the 2015 graduates of the Philippine Military Academy last Sunday, I got the impression that he is isolated from the real world outside Malacañang.
For how does one who has to suffer daily the monstrous Metro Manila traffic and the inefficiency of the MRT accept his painting of the country as a paradise and taking credit for this “accomplishment”: “At hindi naman sa pagbubuhat ng bangko, pero ngayon pa lang, masasabi nating higit na maganda ang kalagayan ng bansa kumpara sa ating dinatnan. Nilinis natin ang burukrasya, tinugis ang mga tiwali, pinasigla ang ekonomiya, at nagbukas tayo ng mga bagong pinto ng oportunidad para sa ating mga kababayan. (Not to be self-indulgent, but at this stage, we can truly say that our country’s situation is much better than we found it. We cleaned up the bureaucracy, pursued the corrupt, revitalized the economy, and opened new doors of opportunity for our countrymen.)”
Going down fast.Obviously, Vice President Jejomar Binay’s early campaigning was not enough to offset the negative impact of the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee investigation which has exposed his alleged mindboggling corruption operations in Makati City.
His scores in Pulse Asia surveys on presidential preference, performance and trust ratings are in a freefall.
In the survey conducted November 14 to 20 Binay’s rating dropped by 21 percentage points (from 66 percent in September to only 45 percent in November).
His trust rating also took a steep decline – 20 percentage points, from 64 percent in September to 44 percent in November.
The PDAF and DAP scandals have a lot to do with the increase in the trust of the people on media, the decline of the same for the government and continued distrust for non-government organizations.
The 2014 Philippine Trust Index conducted by EON showed that media is third most trusted institution with 33 percent, up from 32 per cent last year. First is the Church, which includes not only Catholic Church but also other denominations, with 75 percent, up from last year’s 68 percent.
Academe comes second with 53 percent, up from last year’s 45 percent.
The least trusted institution is the government with 11 percent, down from 15 per cent last year, followed by NGO with 12 percent, the same as last year’s.
