3 of 5 Pinoys say corrupt president should resign

About three in every five Filipinos, or 59 percent, believed that a president should resign if he or she were found to tolerate graft and corruption, or linked to graft and corruption, results of the October 20 to 31 survey by Pulse Asia showed. "For a majority of Filipinos (59 percent), a president’s being linked directly or indirectly to graft and corruption, or even merely tolerating graft and corruption among government officials, are sufficient conditions for a president to resign from office," Pulse Asia said. “When asked what they considered to be sufficient reasons for a president to resign from office, almost the same number mentioned either the president’s (22 percent) or any member of his/her family’s (19 percent) being linked to graft and corruption," it added. Meanwhile, Pulse Asia said 18 percent of the respondents believed a president found tolerating graft and corruption among government officials had enough reasons to vacate his or her post. The nationwide survey with 1,200 respondents, 18 years old and above, was conducted when the following issues dominated the news: the cash handed out to selected local government officials and legislators in Malacañang; renewed calls for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s resignation and the planned revival of impeachment complaints against her; the blast in a Makati shopping mall that killed several people; the rift between President Arroyo and House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr over the ZTE and cash handout controversies; the continuing Senate investigation on the ZTE contract; the granting of pardon to former President Joseph Estrada; the holding of the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections; and the increasing price of oil in the global market and the steady appreciation of the Philippine peso. However, one in three Filipinos or 34 percent of the respondents thought that a president should only resign or be removed from office if there were strong evidence linking him or her and his or her family to graft and corruption. "Most Filipinos are inclined not to take drastic measures to have a president resign or be removed from office even if they are convinced that he/she should resign or be removed from office," Pulse Asia said. Results of the survey showed that only one in four Filipinos or 25 percent expressed “willingness to do whatever is necessary" to have a president removed from public office. This finding was “most notable" in the Visayas (34 percent), and “least pronounced" in Metro Manila (21 percent) according to Pulse Asia. “What most Filipinos (61 percent) are willing to do is to sign public petitions advocating the resignation or the removal from office of a president – an opinion articulated by near to big majorities (47 to 78 percent) across geographic areas and socio-economic groups in the Philippines," it said. - GMANews.TV