Poll: Pinoys disenchanted with Senate favor shift to parliamentary system

Opinion has dramatically swung in favor of changing the present system of government because of the increasing perception that the Senate has been unable to perform its lawmaking mandate.

In the survey made by the Center for Issues and Advocacy (The Center), around 47 of Filipinos have expressed support for a change to unicameral parliamentary system of government as practiced in most countries today, as against 36 percent who still wanted to retain the US-style presidential bicameral system.

The same survey, culled from 1,200 respondents polled from Aug. 21 to 28, revealed 17 percent are still undecided over the issue.

The Center’s latest survey also revealed the support for the parliamentary system was highest in Luzon and Mindanao at 49 percent.

"This disenchantment with the performance of the Senate also showed when some 50 percent of the respondents said the legislative gridlock is no longer healthy even for a democratic country such as the Philippines," said Ed Malay, executive director of The Center.

Malay said a majority of the respondents had noted the Senate has lost track of its main lawmaking function.

"And (the Senate) has subverted this primary responsibility to the conduct of investigations which has caused a gridlock that has stalled the passage of important pieces of legislation," he said.

The survey also revealed that 44 percent of Filipinos are satisfied with the performance of President Arroyo, as against 41 percent.

This gave the President a net rating of three percent, which the research group described as "a dramatic improvement" of her performance rating since the May 2004 presidential elections.

The survey results jibe with the findings that 48 percent of Filipinos believe the dismissal of the second impeachment complaint made Mrs. Arroyo politically stronger.

"A closer look at the data gathered reveals a growing shift in the public’s perception of the leadership of President Arroyo, and this is primarily brought about by not just the dismissal of the impeachment complaints but by the President’s ability to weather the issues that those opposed to the President’s governance have raised," Malay said.

Malay also attributed the President’s improving satisfaction ratings to the positive developments in the economy, such as the continued strong showing of the Philippine peso against the dollar.

Corresponding to the marked increase in the number of Filipinos favoring the unicameral parliamentary setup is the high level of dissatisfaction with the Senate, with 37 percent of respondents rating its performance as poor, and 30 percent saying that its output was below average.

As a result, Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. incurred a high dissatisfaction rating of 54 percent, with 46 percent satisfied with his performance, compared with Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., who earned a high satisfaction rating of 51 percent.

The respondents were polled at the time when Sigaw ng Bayan and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) filed their petition for a people’s initiative before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) but was later dismissed for lack of jurisdiction on Aug. 31.