Fake surveys are no news

By Herbert Vego

 

PROBABLY for fear of being “outdone” by the Social Weather Stations (SWS), Pulse Asia has upped President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval rating to 91 percent in a nationwide survey conducted kuno from September 14 to 20, 2020.

As if that were not good enough, only five percent allegedly disapproved and another five declined to decide. Aba Ginoong Mario, for a mathematically impossible total of 101 percent?

Assuming their enumerators had really found a way – despite the COVID pandemic —  to reach the provinces of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to feel the pulse of supposedly 1,200 respondents, why would they translate the percentage into a nationwide reality? OMG, that number is always insignificant in a country with a population of 110 million!

It puzzles this writer why the obviously fake “products” of Pulse Asia and SWS make it to the front pages and prime-time newscasts on radio and TV.

Since these pollsters make money from sponsors, there is no doubt they pay the outlets of their survey results. In that case, the participating purveyors ought to label the survey stories as “paid advertisement”; otherwise, they become conspirators of the dubious sources, thus eroding their own credibility.

Do they expect to convince Mr. Duterte that his 91% approval rating has really gone up by four percentage points from 87% in December 2019?

But, of course, it’s not for the consumption of the President; it’s another mind-conditioning trick aimed at preparing us for election 2022. Look, Dick, look, the same survey pulled down Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo from a previous 57% to a mere 50% approval rating.

This early, however, Duterte’s minions appear afraid of Robredo ascending the presidency in case he dies or is incapacitated. Remember that on August 20, 2020, Rep. Precious Hipolito Castelo (2^nd Dist., Quezon City) filed House Bill No. 4062 authorizing the President to name his temporary “designated successor” from among the Cabinet members. However, she withdrew the bill 10 days later “to erase any wrong impression that she is ignoring or scrapping the constitutional line of succession to the presidency.”

The line casts the vice-president, Senate president, and Speaker in that order.

But another bill filed by Sen. Panfilo Lacson (SB 982) would continue the  constitutional line to include a senior senator, a senior congressman and a ranking Cabinet member chosen by the President.

Another growing perception alludes to the presidential daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, as the President’s “anointed successor” and presidential candidate in 2022.

What triggered that perception was the decision of Facebook Philippines to “erase” all alleged fake FB accounts backing the military’s campaign against the country’s long-running Communist insurgency; and those endorsing the presidential candidacy of the younger Duterte.

Duterte’s reaction threatening to shut down Facebook only fanned further public suspicion to that possibility. After all, a non-Duterte successor might no longer be friendly.

Now that leads us to the ongoing Speakership fight between incumbent Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Allan Velasco over the former’s refusal to give way to the latter despite their term-sharing agreement on the pretext that the “majority” of congressmen prefer to keep the status quo.

Oh well, Cayetano could not be so sure. Since it was the President who had brokered the 2016 “gentlemen’s agreement,” breaking it could send the signal that he had become a lame duck. Under that circumstance, Cayetano would have to step down from the House throne on October 14.

While Cayetano could always invoke “separation of powers” in upholding the independence of the legislature, it is more fiction than fact under the Duterte administration.  To reiterate, he might have lost to Velasco in the Speakership election in 2016 had their “boss” (that’s how Cayetano addresses Duterte) not intervened.

There is also the question of doubtful “loyalty” of Cayetano, especially because his ambition of running for President in 2022 could be the prime mover in his determination to stick to the Speakership. What if, given the opportunity, he would run against Sara?

One recalls that when Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III ran for President in 2010, Cayetano actively campaigned for him.

But when he became Duterte’s Foreign Affairs Secretary in 2017, he not only defended his boss’ pivot to China but also hit Aquino on the latter’s call for transparency on the South China Sea issue.

Now, therefore, Velasco — who has no presidential ambition and is closer to Sara – might just laugh the last laugh.

Sadya dya.

-oOo-

MORE Power’s PR man Jonathan Cabrera – in a brief interview with the radio program “Tribuna sang Banwa” on Aksyon Radyo last Sunday – spoke about the continuous modernization of their facilities to provide better service in Iloilo City.

The arrival of a 10MVA Mobile Substation would ensure sufficient power in the Megaworld area. It can supplement the load being supplied by the Mandurriao substation, which is currently at critical levels.

He said that the company had just acquired thermal imaging cameras that are capable of detecting weak spots in our distribution system. Unless detected, the defective facilities could burn out and cause long power interruptions.

Thermal scanners are therefore essential in the rehabilitation and upgrading of the distribution network in the city of Iloilo.

With the purchase of two units of infrared thermography equipment, MORE Power may identify high-risk and non-secure parts of electrical lines, connectors, and transformers long before they become problematic and eventually break down, thus preventing unexpected power interruptions.