9 of 10 Filipinos see hope in 2010 - Pulse Asia

After a year marred with natural, political and economic turbulence, nearly nine of 10 Filipinos are hopeful the coming year will be better, according to a survey by pollster Pulse Asia. The survey said 86% of Filipinos look forward to the year ahead with hope, while 49% said Christmas 2009 will be no different from last year’s. "For about half of Filipinos (49%), the coming Christmas will be no different from the one they had a year ago; on the other hand, a big majority (86%) is looking forward to the year ahead with hope," it said on its Website. "Most Filipinos across all geographic areas and socio-economic classes (80% to 90%) are optimistic about the year ahead. Between October 2008 and 2009, there is an 8-percentage point increase among Filipinos who say they will face the year ahead with hope," it added. It said near to sizeable majorities across the country’s main geographic areas (45% to 53%) and across socio-economic classes (46% to 56%) say that this Christmas season will be the same as in 2008. Big pluralities in the smaller geographic areas of Eastern Visayas and Region X1 projected a heightened sense of optimism for this Christmas season. "Compared to October 2008, more Filipinos now expect a more prosperous Christmas (20% versus 29%) despite the various natural disasters that devastated parts of the country this year. A similar pattern may be noted in the rest of Luzon, the Visayas, and Class D (+10 to +19 percentage points)," the survey said. Conversely, fewer now say the coming holiday season will be poorer than last year not only at the national level (28% versus 22%) but also in the Visayas (34% versus 18%) and Mindanao (34% versus 23%). The survey showed a huge majority of Filipinos (86%) will face the year 2010 with hope while less than one in ten (7%) will face the year ahead either with apprehension or without hope and without apprehension. The survey was conducted October 22 to 30, using face-to-face interviews with 1,800 adults, with a +/- 2% error margin at the 95% confidence level. Error margins of +/- 6% for Metro Manila, +/- 4% for the rest of Luzon and +/- 5% for each of Visayas and Mindanao, at 95% confidence level applied to the survey. News headlines at the time the survey was conducted included the formal declaration of former President Joseph Estrada of his bid for the presidency in 2010 and questions raised regarding the legality of this bid; Senator Lorna Regina Legarda’s declaration of her plans for the May 2010 elections and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ronaldo Puno’s withdrawal from the vice-presidential race; Senator Francis Escudero’s departure from the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC); the continuing search for a running mate by both Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilbert C. Teodoro, Jr. and Senator Manuel Villar Jr.; the long lines of late registrants catching the last days of registration for the May 2010 elections; the resignation of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr.; continuing relief efforts in the aftermath of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, as well as the arrival of two new storms; and the freeze on oil prices and other energy products, as well as basic commodities, imposed by the government. - LBG, GMANews.TV