Govt treatment of Arroyo ‘fair,’ say most Pinoys

MANILA, Philippines – Majority of Filipinos consider as fair the government’s treatment of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Social Weather Stations said on Monday, Dec. 26, 2011.

In its fourth quarter 2011 social weather survey published by Businessworld and released to the media, the SWS said 69% of its respondents said the government’s treatment of Mrs Arroyo was “only fair,” with only 17% describing it as “too harsh” and 13% saying it was “too lenient.”

Public trust in Mrs Arroyo remained low, with 73% of respondents saying they had little trust in her compared to 11% with much trust. Her net trust rating of -62% is the lowest recorded in one year, according to the SWS.

The government arrested the former president on Nov. 18, 2011, over a non-bailable case of electoral sabotage that  the Commission on Elections file earlier that day. She is now under house arrest at the government-run Veterans Medical Center in Quezon City.

The SWS said that its December 2011 survey was conducted from December 3-7, 2011 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, ±6% for area percentages).

The survey question was: “What is your opinion about the administration’s treatment of former Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regarding the cases that she is facing? Would you say that the administration has been (too harsh, only fair, too lenient)?”

For more details on the survey, read the findings here – Rappler.com