Malacanang's spin doctors were quick to praise President Aquino when the new Pulse Asia and Social Weather Station surveys came out. The palace praised itself for retaining a high approval and trust ratings for the President.
Studying the results however, shows that there is nothing to rejoice about. Both survey firms say that public approval or trust in the President did not actually rise or moved these couple of months. Meaning, the President is now being closely scrutinized by a confused public whether he is performing at par or not. (see Amado Doronila's article today at the Inquirer)
The firms also admitted that their results could actually be wrong. Meaning, the public sent wrong signals to the inforeceivers of the survey firms.
Four challenges face the President right this moment:
First, the worsening economic situation. I'll not enumerate the index anymore.
Second, a worsening peace and order situation not just in Metro Manila but also in Mindanao and possible escalation of the conflict there with the Bangsamoro rebels.
Third, escalation of hostilities between the Communists and the Armed Forces of the Philippines and lastly;
Fourth, continuing graft and corruption in the government that worries foreign and domestic investors
Fact is, this is the most dangerous part of Aquino's administration. He is overlooking so many things that this administration does not really know what is truly happening in our country. It is in a state of suspended animation. NOthing moves out there. It is like people inside the palace is waiting for something to happen.
Showing posts with label pulse asia survey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pulse asia survey. Show all posts
Monday, September 19, 2011
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The wrath of the Masses against the C-5 road scam
Senator Manny Villar's monumental drop in the surveys shows the wrath of the ABC-D classes. Villar lost a considerable number of Filipinos belonging to the socio-economic ABC and D classes due to the C-5 road controversy. People are now realising that Villar is corrupt. More than the 40 plus percent from the ABC classes who went to Noynoy, and a considerable drop in the D classes show the Masses' contempt of Villar regarding the C-5 road scam. Villar's inability to explain what really happened and his evident contempt of the Senate boomeranged against him.
Likewise, his drop also reflected the successful re-claiming of areas considered as traditional Erap bailiwicks by an invigorated Estrada campaign machinery.
The Nacionalista Party released a statement saying that they are not entirely concerned and that Villar can still regain it. I sincerely doubt it. I have friends in the Nacionalista party and I must laud their sectoral efforts. However, areas which were traditionally Erap are now being tapped and invigorated. It seems that Erap is on the roll.
Fact is, the soonest Erap regain these areas, the more Villar will lose this game. And the more that Noynoy Aquino's team hammer their anti-corruption slant in their infomercials, the more that Villar will lose ground.
Villar has released his "Laging mahirap" commercials again, but without the pizzaz. The reception is quite lukewarm. And this is the problem with TV ads. If you already saturated the airwaves, people will get tired and instead of positive reactions, you'll get negative feedback.
Villar needs a change of tack fast and must realise that his so-called poverty story is not effective anymore. He needs a new gimmick. Whatever it is, it should probably address the C-5 road scam.
The question really is---will he be able to convince us that he did not dip his hands in the gravy pot with C-5 when overwhelming evidence show otherwise?
Likewise, his drop also reflected the successful re-claiming of areas considered as traditional Erap bailiwicks by an invigorated Estrada campaign machinery.
The Nacionalista Party released a statement saying that they are not entirely concerned and that Villar can still regain it. I sincerely doubt it. I have friends in the Nacionalista party and I must laud their sectoral efforts. However, areas which were traditionally Erap are now being tapped and invigorated. It seems that Erap is on the roll.
Fact is, the soonest Erap regain these areas, the more Villar will lose this game. And the more that Noynoy Aquino's team hammer their anti-corruption slant in their infomercials, the more that Villar will lose ground.
Villar has released his "Laging mahirap" commercials again, but without the pizzaz. The reception is quite lukewarm. And this is the problem with TV ads. If you already saturated the airwaves, people will get tired and instead of positive reactions, you'll get negative feedback.
Villar needs a change of tack fast and must realise that his so-called poverty story is not effective anymore. He needs a new gimmick. Whatever it is, it should probably address the C-5 road scam.
The question really is---will he be able to convince us that he did not dip his hands in the gravy pot with C-5 when overwhelming evidence show otherwise?
Monday, June 1, 2009
Third Force sure to win Presidency in 2010
In an election where about 34.4 Million (80% out of 43 million registered voters) are expected to cast their votes, anything is possible. In a two party fight, a presidentiable needs 51% or 17.5Million votes to win. However, in a multi-party fight, the best that a presidentiable needs is about 6-7 million votes to snatch the crown.
Of course, the likely scenario come 2010 is a multi-pronged fight among numerous parties. In that case, a presidentiable needs only to spend an amount equivalent to running as a senator. He doesn’t need billions to waste in these elections. He just needs to spend it wisely.
Now, in a tight race such as this, you need a backbone and that is a strong personal network of local executives. Since there would be an inter-locking of interests, constituencies and agendum, a solid base of local executives and organizations is needed. If, for example, a candidate already has this, expect him to win single-handedly than the others. More likely, those who would depend largely on party machinery would surely not make the grade since, in this scenario, victory would depend on the personal network of supporters of the candidate, rather than sheer party power.
That's why, Teodoro does not have a Chinaman's chance of winning the elections if pitted against Estrada and possibly, Mar Roxas. Estrada has a solid mass base of support, a mix of fans and supporters gained from years as a traditional politician. Roxas, meanwhile, also has a very solid base of support, gained through years of running as senator. His 18 million is nothing to sneeze at and granted that he gets just a fraction of this, which is still substantial to allow him to win.Teodoro, meanwhile, would rely on sheer strength of the administration party particularly in resources since this would mean more candies thrown at the sidelines instead of crumbs by other parties.
Yet, in honest-to-goodness elections, Teodoro's antics would probably go to waste since, in the final analysis, local politicians would think of their personal survival first before minding national campaigners like Teodoro. Ultimately, Teodoro would have to rely on his personal network, which, unfortunately, he doesn’t have. He hasn’t campaigned on a national basis and does not have a sterling record running a national campaign. Hence, he stands to suffer the same fate as that of former Defense secretary Renato de Villa, should he insists on running despite not being the standard bearer.
Now, we go to De Castro. De Castro just ran twice---first as Senator and then vice president. Question---can we now say that De Castro has a solid personal constituency of his own? It's quite doubtful, considering that his numbers are not illustrative or definitive of a solid mass base. Maybe the reason why De Castro continues to enjoy positive support from the masses (as reflected in these surveys, most notably, Pulse Asia) is he hasn’t declared himself a candidate yet and he hasn’t thrown his fate to the Arroyo block. It would be quite different though should De Castro cast his lot with Arroyo's, in which case, possibly, that would whither support away from him. That would really peel off De Castro's perceived strength as a candidate since people will now see him as an administration lackey and that will surely affect his chances.
How about Chiz Escudero? Does he have a personal constituency that, despite party machinery, he's surely win? Like De Castro, it's doubtful. Chiz is a scion of local politics. It's only just once that he ran a national campaign, yet, there are indications though that Chiz is slowly building up a personal mass base, like Estrada's. However, everyone knows that it's still quite dangerous to bet on Chiz since his influence is still untested. In this case, it is safer to bet with Loren Legarda, since she has shown a consistent base of more than 10 million votes with her successive national campaigns.
What am I trying to say here? In terms of statistical probabilities, a third force, like, for example, a Mar Roxas campaign is surer to win than all the others. Compared with Chiz and de Castro, Roxas is a veteran national campaigner, having campaigned for the senate twice. Of course, it's safer still to also bet on Estrada since; his influence has not waned despite being incarcerated for some time.And it's not certain if Estrada could transpose the public trust reposed to him by the masses to his favoured candidate.
FPJ's case is one. Despite his endorsement, FPJ lost. FPJ could have won if there are no other parties that ran, says Estrada, but I know that he knows that that is surely not the reason why his friend lost.What people considered then was the track record of FPJ as an official, which, we all know, was non-existent. Sure, those claps, those ohs and ahs of the masses were not votes; they're simply shallow adulations.
Okey let me recap this so that it's clearer.1. I believe that 2010 will be a multi-party fight. Administration will pit De Castro over an opposition candidate, probably in the person of Estrada and a "third force" would emerge, represented by the Liberal Party led by Mar Roxas. What would prevent the possibility of an Estrada-Escudero tandem? Nothing of course, except that the NPC might throw their chances out of the window should they insists on running independently or casting their lot with LAKAS-KAMPI (unlikely).2. Eventually, Villar's Nacionalista Party will bow out of the race. Villar is encountering a whole lot of trouble after this ethics scandal. Surely, he'll reconsider than fight it out. In that scenario, Villar would opt his chances with Estrada camp, since Jinggoy is still sympathetic with him, a sign that he's still "in good graces" with them. However, Villar would suffer the fate of other wannabes since in the final count; it would just be the Estrada faction of the opposition and the administration that would figure prominently in the leader board.3. Having said that, it is all the more likely that the elitist factions of Estrada and the administration will cancel themselves out to usher or pave the way for the victory of a perceived third force. Voters would definitely choose the safer opposition---a force that is not tainted with corruption and has a record of service.
The question lies is---who will lead this third force? Would it be Escudero? That would be determined from the direction the NPC would take in the coming months. If NPC sways in the direction of the administration, they would be committing suicide and would lose their chance of conquering Malacanang. If NPC sways in the direction of the opposition that would cause a serious split that would pave the way for a third force. Unlike other third forces which ran, and lost under the weight of trapo machineries, this Third Force enjoys both strategic fund advantage and tactical opportunity.
Of course, the likely scenario come 2010 is a multi-pronged fight among numerous parties. In that case, a presidentiable needs only to spend an amount equivalent to running as a senator. He doesn’t need billions to waste in these elections. He just needs to spend it wisely.
Now, in a tight race such as this, you need a backbone and that is a strong personal network of local executives. Since there would be an inter-locking of interests, constituencies and agendum, a solid base of local executives and organizations is needed. If, for example, a candidate already has this, expect him to win single-handedly than the others. More likely, those who would depend largely on party machinery would surely not make the grade since, in this scenario, victory would depend on the personal network of supporters of the candidate, rather than sheer party power.
That's why, Teodoro does not have a Chinaman's chance of winning the elections if pitted against Estrada and possibly, Mar Roxas. Estrada has a solid mass base of support, a mix of fans and supporters gained from years as a traditional politician. Roxas, meanwhile, also has a very solid base of support, gained through years of running as senator. His 18 million is nothing to sneeze at and granted that he gets just a fraction of this, which is still substantial to allow him to win.Teodoro, meanwhile, would rely on sheer strength of the administration party particularly in resources since this would mean more candies thrown at the sidelines instead of crumbs by other parties.
Yet, in honest-to-goodness elections, Teodoro's antics would probably go to waste since, in the final analysis, local politicians would think of their personal survival first before minding national campaigners like Teodoro. Ultimately, Teodoro would have to rely on his personal network, which, unfortunately, he doesn’t have. He hasn’t campaigned on a national basis and does not have a sterling record running a national campaign. Hence, he stands to suffer the same fate as that of former Defense secretary Renato de Villa, should he insists on running despite not being the standard bearer.
Now, we go to De Castro. De Castro just ran twice---first as Senator and then vice president. Question---can we now say that De Castro has a solid personal constituency of his own? It's quite doubtful, considering that his numbers are not illustrative or definitive of a solid mass base. Maybe the reason why De Castro continues to enjoy positive support from the masses (as reflected in these surveys, most notably, Pulse Asia) is he hasn’t declared himself a candidate yet and he hasn’t thrown his fate to the Arroyo block. It would be quite different though should De Castro cast his lot with Arroyo's, in which case, possibly, that would whither support away from him. That would really peel off De Castro's perceived strength as a candidate since people will now see him as an administration lackey and that will surely affect his chances.
How about Chiz Escudero? Does he have a personal constituency that, despite party machinery, he's surely win? Like De Castro, it's doubtful. Chiz is a scion of local politics. It's only just once that he ran a national campaign, yet, there are indications though that Chiz is slowly building up a personal mass base, like Estrada's. However, everyone knows that it's still quite dangerous to bet on Chiz since his influence is still untested. In this case, it is safer to bet with Loren Legarda, since she has shown a consistent base of more than 10 million votes with her successive national campaigns.
What am I trying to say here? In terms of statistical probabilities, a third force, like, for example, a Mar Roxas campaign is surer to win than all the others. Compared with Chiz and de Castro, Roxas is a veteran national campaigner, having campaigned for the senate twice. Of course, it's safer still to also bet on Estrada since; his influence has not waned despite being incarcerated for some time.And it's not certain if Estrada could transpose the public trust reposed to him by the masses to his favoured candidate.
FPJ's case is one. Despite his endorsement, FPJ lost. FPJ could have won if there are no other parties that ran, says Estrada, but I know that he knows that that is surely not the reason why his friend lost.What people considered then was the track record of FPJ as an official, which, we all know, was non-existent. Sure, those claps, those ohs and ahs of the masses were not votes; they're simply shallow adulations.
Okey let me recap this so that it's clearer.1. I believe that 2010 will be a multi-party fight. Administration will pit De Castro over an opposition candidate, probably in the person of Estrada and a "third force" would emerge, represented by the Liberal Party led by Mar Roxas. What would prevent the possibility of an Estrada-Escudero tandem? Nothing of course, except that the NPC might throw their chances out of the window should they insists on running independently or casting their lot with LAKAS-KAMPI (unlikely).2. Eventually, Villar's Nacionalista Party will bow out of the race. Villar is encountering a whole lot of trouble after this ethics scandal. Surely, he'll reconsider than fight it out. In that scenario, Villar would opt his chances with Estrada camp, since Jinggoy is still sympathetic with him, a sign that he's still "in good graces" with them. However, Villar would suffer the fate of other wannabes since in the final count; it would just be the Estrada faction of the opposition and the administration that would figure prominently in the leader board.3. Having said that, it is all the more likely that the elitist factions of Estrada and the administration will cancel themselves out to usher or pave the way for the victory of a perceived third force. Voters would definitely choose the safer opposition---a force that is not tainted with corruption and has a record of service.
The question lies is---who will lead this third force? Would it be Escudero? That would be determined from the direction the NPC would take in the coming months. If NPC sways in the direction of the administration, they would be committing suicide and would lose their chance of conquering Malacanang. If NPC sways in the direction of the opposition that would cause a serious split that would pave the way for a third force. Unlike other third forces which ran, and lost under the weight of trapo machineries, this Third Force enjoys both strategic fund advantage and tactical opportunity.
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