14 M Filipinos want to leave the country now - poll

Three in 10 Filipinos would now migrate if it were only possible, results of a survey conducted by Pulse Asia showed Wednesday. "This translates into at least 14 million adult Filipinos opting to leave the country and permanently residing abroad for whatever reason,'' the polling firm said in a statement. "A slightly bigger number nationwide - 37 percent - spurns migration and chooses to stay in the country. Another 32 percent - virtually a third of the public - are vacillating and will also not rule out the possibility of migrating if it were possible," it added. Called the July 2006 Ulat ng Bayan national survey on Political Efficacy, Martial Rule, Hopelessness, and Intention to Migrate, the survey was based on a multistage probability sample of 1,200 representative adults 18 years old and above, with a plus or minus percent error margin and a 95 percent confidence level. The survey was not commissioned by any group. Face-to-face field interviews for this project were conducted from June 24 to July 8, 2006. Previous results show that in July 2002, about 24 percent of Filipinos wanted to migrate and that the figure grew to 26 percent in July 2005. In the latest poll, 30 percent of the respondents said that they would like to migrate. Pulse Asia said that on a year-on-year basis, the percentage of Filipinos inclined to migrate has remained practically unchanged from 26 percent versus 30 percent. However, it noted the overall level of indecision on this issue has risen by 11 percentage points from 21 percent last year to 32 percent this year while those who said they do not want to migrate decreased from 52 percent in 2005 to 37 percent this year. "It bears noting that the percentage of Filipinos who spurn migration drops quite a bit from 52 percent to 37 percent during the same period. The current proportion of Filipinos who won't migrate - 37 percent, the same figure recorded in October 2005 - is the lowest since July 2002," the firm said. The figures showed that those opposed to migration are mostly based in the Visayas area - 48 percent - and those in the poorest, class E, which registered a 48 percent opposition. Public vacillation regarding migration, the same figures showed, is clearly most pronounced in rural Luzon at 41 percent and least manifest in urban Visayas at 17 percent. In contrast, intention to migrate is nearly constant across the geographic areas and socio-economic classes 22 percent to 34 percent. The survey was conducted at a time when reports regarding filing of impeachment complaints against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her declaration of her all-out war against communists, among others, hugged the headlines. The Mega Pacific deal, impeachment cases, the military's recommendation to file charges against military officers and soldiers for the February 24, 2006 failed coup and the recapture of six Magdalo officers were also in the news at the time. Split over radical change The survey also showed that few Filipinos believe there is democratic governance in the Philippines and that a large proportion of the public - 41 percent - believe that the Philippines is controlled by a powerful few. The same proportion of the respondents said they believe that "ordinary citizens cannot do anything about this situation." Amid recent issues of electoral fraud and presidential legitimacy, military restiveness and executive-legislative gridlocks, Pulse Asia said Filipinos are split over the question of using peaceful means in promoting democracy. "Practically equal proportions of the public say that the possibility of such disillusionment is "Big" (29 percent) or "Small" (30 percent)," the polling firm said. Despite the many critical problems facing the country, fully half of the nation continue to reject martial law being imposed at this time, the survey showed, adding that 50 percent of Filipinos reject martial law as a solution to the country's urgent problems. However, the poll showed some weakening of this sentiment. "There has been a decline - nine percentage points - in the proportion of Filipinos holding this view between March and July 2006. Furthermore, the public disagreement with imposing martial law has also dropped from 67 percent to 50 percent year-on-year, while public indecision has increased by 18 percentage points from 14 percent to 32 percent,''the firm said.-GMANews.TV