H&B poll: Pinoys want some Cabinet changes

A majority of Metro Manila residents are in favor of President Arroyo making "some" changes to her Cabinet.

This was the finding of the latest Harris & Black Associates (HB&A) survey.

Taken from July 10 to 12, the survey covered 300 respondents and had a five percent margin of error.

A clear majority, or 66 percent of the respondents, said Mrs. Arroyo should "change some Cabinet members only," even as 19 percent favored a complete overhaul.

Only seven percent saw no pressing need for a Cabinet revamp, while five percent were satisfied with the present Cabinet.

How the respondents regarded the actual appointees was a different matter.

Only 41 percent approved of Mrs. Arroyo’s first appointee, Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes, with respondents split between indifference (31 percent) and disapproval (28 percent).

The HB&A survey was taken a few days after the emotional press conference of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman, where she announced her resignation from the Cabinet to give way to Vice President Noli de Castro.

While 75 percent believed the President has the prerogative to replace any of her Cabinet officials, respondents were split 40 to 38 percent on whether Soliman was "right to complain in public" that she was "betrayed" by the President.

While 54 percent of the respondents thought De Castro "qualified" for his appointment, 63 percent saw his appointment as a "political favor," with 21 regarding the appointment as the product of both qualification and political accommodation.