Don’t blame media for low ratings, opposition tells Palace

Malacañang should not blame the media for the low ratings in the latest surveys of President Arroyo and her possible senatorial candidates in next year’s elections, opposition congressmen said yesterday.

"They should blame themselves and not the media," Minority Leader Francis Escudero told reporters.

He said the bad press that Mrs. Arroyo and her administration continue to get is due to the unresolved "legitimacy issues" hounding her and acts of wrongdoing and corruption on the part of many of her officials.

"The legitimacy issues arising from allegations of cheating in the May 2004 presidential election affect not only her but also her candidates in next year’s elections. A case of misery loves company," he said.

In the latest Pulse Asia survey, the President failed to improve her performance rating despite improvements in the country’s fiscal and economic situation. In the same survey, no possible administration senatorial candidate made it to the Top 12, which was composed of potential candidates from the opposition.

Reacting to Mrs. Arroyo’s poor rating, Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra said it could have been the result of "tough but unpopular" decisions the President made to improve government finances and the economic situation.

"She made the correct decisions, though these may have hurt the public initially. Unfortunately, the presidency is not a popularity contest," he said.

For his part, Deputy Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said survey results are "a matter of trust."

"The President’s negative ratings for several quarters only show that the people do not trust her. She can recover from these poor marks only if she explains the issues about cheating in the 2004 elections, Garci-GMA tapes, fertilizer fund anomaly, and other scams, and the people accept her explanations. The other option is for her to resign," he said.

He said Malacañang should not resort to "finger-pointing" by blaming the media for the administration’s low ratings.

He pointed out that even if there are some excesses from the media, "it is better to have a little abuse from the media than to have abusive politicians and a timid media."

At the same time, Cayetano disputed the statement of Gabby Claudio, the President’s political adviser, that administration candidates are performing poorly in surveys because they have not been gearing up for next year’s elections as they are focused on Charter change.

"On the contrary, they have been preparing for the elections. In fact, many of them have been running infomercials on radio and television," he said. — Jess Diaz