UNO: Survey says 65% in Mega Manila doubt Erap to get fair verdict

About 65 percent of Filipinos doubt former President Joseph Estrada will get a fair verdict on his P4.1-billion plunder and perjury cases awaiting promulgation by the Sandiganbayan. The United Opposition (UNO) on Tuesday said this was shown in a survey it commissioned the Social Weather Stations (SWS) to conduct among 600 respondents in Mega Manila on July 18 to 20. "A 'significant plurality' of Filipinos or 65 percent of the respondents were either 'doubtful' or 'undecided' when asked about their perception of the impartiality of the Sandiganbayan to render 'a fair decision' on the Estrada case," it said in a statement. In contrast, 34 percent said they had "much trust" in the graft court to issue a fair decision. On the other hand, 26 percent had "little trust" while 39 percent did not give an answer. The survey covered respondents from Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna. It had a +/-4 percent margin of error. UNO's latest revelation comes a day after it made public findings from an SWS survey done in the same period, which showed that 71 percent of Mega Manila residents believed President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was involved in corruption. In its statement issued Tuesday, UNO said its leaders commissioned the survey to determine the public impact of claims by Estrada allies that Malacañang was "pulling strings" to ensure a guilty verdict. "Critics alleged Malacañang cannot afford an Estrada acquittal as it would revisit legitimacy questions about the Arroyo government and trigger more political instability," it said. The survey also showed nearly six of 10 Filipinos, or 58 percent, agreed with the statement that President Arroyo is "toying" with Estrada. Only 24 percent disagreed with the statement. Of those who believed Mrs Arroyo was toying with Estrada, 39 percent "strongly agreed" while 19 percent said they "somewhat agreed." Of those who did not believe Mrs Arroyo was toying with Estrada, 10 percent said they "strongly agreed" and 13 percent said they "somewhat agreed." One percent refused to comment. UNO said the survey also showed that in the event that the Sandiganbayan would hand down a guilty verdict, 82 percent of the respondents said Estrada should remain in his Tanay rest house while the Supreme Court reviews his case. About 16 percent said Estrada should be transferred to the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City. The survey also said 86 percent believed President Arroyo should pardon Estrada if the graft court handed down a guilty verdict. About 48 percent said Estrada should be pardoned "immediately" while 38 percent said he should be pardoned "after some time." Only 13 percent said Estrada should not be pardoned. Last Monday, SWS confirmed that it conducted the series of surveys in Mega Manila that had been cited by the United Opposition (UNO). In a statement, the SWS said former Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, who served as campaign manager of the Genuine Opposition (GO) in the last election, commissioned the survey. "The SWS July 2007 survey ... was conducted on July 18-20, 2007 among 600 voting-age adults (18 years old and above), for an error margin of ±4 at the 95% confidence level for the areas covered, namely Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal," it said. It added the respondents were proportionally allocated among the study areas using Census projections for year 2007: 300 respondents in Metro Manila, 80 in Bulacan, 80 in Cavite, 70 in Laguna and 70 in Rizal. - GMANews.TV