Phone survey finds Estrada guilty

Some 64 percent of 1,000 respondents in a telephone-based survey conducted last Dec. 17 think President Estrada is guilty of the impeachment charges.

The survey, conducted by the Audits and Surveys Worldwide (ASW), also shows that 17 percent of the respondents think the President is not guilty, while 29 percent cannot say if he is guilty or not.

In the first ASW survey conducted last Dec. 3, 55 percent thought the President was guilty, and in the Dec. 10 survey, 47 percent thought he was.

The survey also showed that Sen. Raul Roco ranked first on the respondents perception of the senators doing a good job in the impeachment trial. Roco had 78 percent, with Sen. Renato Cayetano at second with 77 percent, and Sen. Loren Legarda, third, 76 percent.

The other senators perceived by the respondents to be doing a good job, in descending order are: Aquilino Pimentel, 4th, 72 percent Franklin Drilon, 5th, 66 percent; Rodolfo Biazon, 6th, 65 percent; Teofisto Guingona, 7th, 63 percent; Juan Ponce Enrile and Miriam Defensor Santiago, joint 8th, 59 percent; Francisco Tatad, 9th, 56 percent; and Juan Flavier, 10th, 58 percent.

Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, 11th, 49 percent; Ramon Magsaysay Jr., 12th, 44 percent; John Osmeña, 13th, 43 percent; Gregorio Honasan, 14th, 42 percent; Nikki Coseteng, 15th, 41 percent; Blas Ople and Vicente Sotto III, joint 16th, 40 percent; Robert Jaworski and Tessie Aquino Oreta, joint 17th, 29 percent; Ramon Revilla, 18th, 27 percent; and Robert Barbers, 19 percent.

Barbers, who is sick, has not attended a single impeachment hearing, but ASW included his name in the survey just the same.

Some 79 percent of the respondents believe Chief Justice Hilario Davide was doing a good job, a five-percent increase over his rating in the Dec. 10 survey, and 24 percent more than in the Dec. 3 survey.