MANILA, Philippines - Most Filipinos are still hopeful that a peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) can be forged but fewer people think it will happen under the Aquino administration, a recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey said.
Based on the results of the SWS survey conducted from June 28 to 30 nationwide, 70 percent of the 1,200 respondents were optimistic that a peace deal with the MILF can be achieved.
The 70 percent who showed optimism on a peace deal included 28 percent who were “very hopeful†and 42 percent who were "somewhat hopeful."
The figures this quarter were a bit lower than those recorded last March, when 79 percent of the respondents were hopeful that the peace deal with the MILF can be completed (41 percent "very hopeful" and 38 percent "somewhat hopeful").
They were also much lower than the figures in June 2011, when a record high 83 percent of the respondents showed optimism on the peace deal (38 percent "very hopeful" and 45 percent "somewhat hopeful").
The number of Filipinos who think that the peace deal will be forged within the term of President Benigno Aquino III also decreased from 49 percent last March to 35 percent in June.
Twenty-eight percent of the respondents said the peace deal can be expected between 2016 and 2022 while 34 percent believed the agreement with the MILF can never be reached.
Mindanao, Muslims most 'hopeful'
Among the four major areas polled, Mindanao showed the most optimism on a peace deal with 34 percent "very hopeful" respondents, followed by Visayas (30 percent), Metro Manila (27 percent) and Balance Luzon (24 percent).
In Mindanao, 23 percent of the respondents believed that the peace deal can be reached this year while 27 percent said it can be completed until 2016.
By religion, Muslims showed the most optimism with 59 percent "very hopeful" of a peace deal followed by other Christians (29 percent) and Catholics (27 percent).
Forty-three percent of the Muslim respondents expected that the peace deal will happen this year while 41 percent said it can still be forged until 2016.
Of the total survey respondents, only three percent were Muslims, 29 percent were other Christians, while 83 percent were Catholics.
The second quarter SWS survey has sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages and ±6 percent for area percentages.
It was conducted more than two months before the members of another group, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), seized several areas in Zamboanga City and engaged in a standoff with government forces.
The rebels were from a faction led by MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari. Government officials have suspected that the Zamboanga siege may be their attempt to derail the Bangsamoro peace talks with the MILF.
The government has also denied claims that the MNLF was ignored in the ongoing peace talks with the MILF.
Charts from SWS website