Nearly half of Pinoy adults see people power if automated polls fail

Nearly half – or 49 percent – of Filipino adults see a repeat of the 1986 People Power revolution if the country's first nationwide automated elections this May will fail, a survey by Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed. "Majority (58 percent) in Balance Luzon (Luzon minus Metro Manila) and over half (54 percent) in Metro Manila sense people power uprising or massive street protests in case of election failure. Plurality (40 percent) in Mindanao shares this anxiety," the SWS said on its Web site. Conducted from October 24 to 27 last year, the survey also found that 47 percent fear the counting machines are vulnerable to sabotage. But at the same time, 44 percent trust the Commission on Elections’ capability to protect the machines, the SWS said. The survey, whose results were released on Thursday, asked respondents the test statement: "If the 2010 elections fail for any reason, e.g., malfunctioning of counting machines, then people power will probably happen… [Kung mabigo ang eleksyon sa 2010 sa anumang dahilan, halimbawa, kapalpakan ng mga makinang pambilang ng boto, malamang magkakaroon na ng people power o ang pagprotesta ng napakaraming mamamayan sa kalye]." Of the respondents, 49 percent agree and 22 percent disagree, for a net agreement score of +27 (percent agree minus percent disagree). The remaining 26 percent neither agree nor disagree. The survey also found mixed opinions about the statement in the Visayas, with 38 percent saying they agreed with it, 33 percent neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and 25 percent expressing disagreement. The survey found that 47 percent agree and 28 percent disagree with the test statement, "The machines that will be used to count the votes in the 2010 election can easily be sabotaged in order to fake the election results [Ang mga makinang gagamitin sa pambilang ng boto sa eleksyon sa 2010 ay madaling masabotahe para dayain ang resulta ng eleksyon]." Some 23 percent neither agree nor disagree, the SWS survey showed. Over half in Metro Manila (56 percent) and Balance Luzon (55 percent) fear the vulnerability of the counting machines to sabotage, the poll showed. Opinions are mixed in the Visayas, with 37 percent expressing fear of sabotage, 33 percent undecided, and 27 percent expressing confidence in the counting machines against sabotage. A plurality 41 percent in Mindanao express confidence that the counting machines cannot be easily sabotaged, compared to 33 percent who express fear of sabotage. To the test statement, "Comelec can be trusted to make sure that there is no sabotage of the machines to be used to count the votes in the May elections [Ang Comelec ay mapagkakatiwalaan na siguraduhin na hindi masasabotahe ang mga makinang gagamitin sa pagbilang ng boto sa eleksyon sa 2010]", 44 percent agreed and 28 percent disagree. The remaining 26 percent neither agreed nor disagreed. Plurality in Balance Luzon (47 percent), Metro Manila (45 percent), and Mindanao (45 percent) trust that the Comelec can guard against sabotage in the 2010 elections. "Opinions tend to be mixed in the Visayas, with 37 percent expressing trust, 35 percent undecided, and 25 percent expressing distrust in the Comelec," SWS said. The survey was conducted from October 24-27, 2009 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages, ±6 percent for area percentages applied to the survey. - LBG, RJAB Jr./GMANews.TV