‘Black prop’ blamed for dip in GMA ratings

President Arroyo is blaming "black propaganda" spread by her opponents for a decline in her popularity ratings, but said she would not change her policies as a response.

She also warned the media against being used by what she branded as agents of disinformation.

"I have been victimized by black propaganda so much that recent media trends and therefore survey results have not been favorable to my administration," Mrs. Arroyo said in a dinner Tuesday night at the Holiday Inn Manila celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Press Club (NPC).

"I am saddened by how the front pages have portrayed gloom and drift and therefore the surveys have reflected a new drop in the satisfaction ratings of my administration," the President said.

Transcripts of her remarks were officially released yesterday.

She acknowledged that "anxiety about terrorism and war, both in the Philippines and the world," had hurt her ratings in surveys.

But she added that "as President, I must not be swayed by power plays or by black propaganda or by character assassination or by a fall in popularity."

Last Monday the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released the results of its fourth quarter survey showing that Mrs. Arroyo’s net satisfaction rating had dropped to 6 percent from 18 percent in the third quarter.

In another survey by Pulse Asia, Mrs. Arroyo, who is widely believed to be running for election in 2004, only placed fourth in a survey of who people would vote for if elections were held now.

Former senator Raul Roco, who was education secretary before he quit Mrs. Arroyo’s Cabinet, has been a consistent topnotcher in the surveys along with movie actor Fernando Poe Jr.

The President said that despite some complaints about security, she remained a staunch supporter of the "global coalition against terrorism," citing the Philippines’ own struggle against Muslim kidnappers believed linked to the al-Qaeda terror network.

"I make no apologies for aggressively seeking to root out terrorism in the Philippines," the President said.

She added her government had prepared contingency measures for the evacuation or safeguarding of Filipinos working in Iraq and Kuwait in case war should break out in the Middle East.

Although she did not mention it, the President was obviously hurting that night after seeing and hearing on radio and TV news of the bribe allegations aired by Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez against her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

Mr. Arroyo, who accompanied the President at the gathering, denied the allegations that the congressman bribed him with P8 million three years ago. For her part, Mrs. Arroyo preferred to keep her peace.

"Popularity comes and goes. What is important is my inner compass and the strategic, political, social and economic direction in which we are heading," she said.

"This does not mean I have no feelings. I feel very sad when media picks up black propaganda as journalistic truth," she hastily added.

The SWS survey was conducted Nov. 15-Dec. 2, and bared respondents’ concerns about omnipresent terrorist threats.

The President took the opportunity to explain to the media practitioners that government has been on top of the situation to address the people’s fears and concerns about the potential threats of foreign and local terrorists in the country, as well the renewed tension in the Middle East that might endanger the lives of millions of overseas Filipino workers in the Persian Gulf.

Unlike other leaders of the country, Mrs. Arroyo said she herself reads the newspapers everyday and not just relies on "press digests" or summaries of stories coming out in media.

"Tonight I come as a newspaper reader who happened to become President of the Philippines. As President of our country, I come to ask the Philippine press to help me carry out my difficult work of trying to change and reform our country so that we can win the battle against poverty within the decade," she said.

The President reassured the nation that she remains focused on her commitment to build a "strong Republic."

"I want to begin to bring about new politics where party platforms are the political tools of the trade rather than the use of destabilization, black propaganda and character assassination which have characterized our weak state especially in recent years," she vowed. — With AFP report