Not the Philippines

Frankly, I wasn’t surprised at all when Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye challenged the latest SWS and Pulse Asia Surveys. It seems that coming to the aid of their disgraced boss, apart from shielding her from further ignominy, are both part of their job descriptions.

Both surveys have projected GMA’s plummeting popularity in Metro Manila. The SWS phone survey alone, showed that 62 percent of Metro Manila residents believe that Macapagal-Arroyo should resign, while 85 percent want her impeached.

I was amused, however, when Ermita justified GMA’s unpopularity in Manila by blurting out: “No Philippine President has gotten a good rating in Metro Manila because people here are naturally averse because they are more exposed to mass media where the views of those against the President are dominant.” He added: “Why won't they conduct surveys in Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Cebu, Davao and the whole of Mindanao including ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) to show the big difference between the surveys in Metro Manila and other urban centers in the Philippines.”

I agree. Why don’t they conduct surveys in other parts of the Philippines? Is Mr. Ermita so sure that GMA would fare better outside Metro Manila?

“Metro Manila is not the Philippines.” This appears to be the strongest argument GMA’s allies have been advocating. They actually believe that people outside the nation’s capital are all rooting for a fraudulent president. Well, with all due respect, I don’t think people from the Visayas and Mindanao are all stupid. We do know a liar and a cheat when we see one.

Which is why I take offense at those who put up streamers around Cebu declaring the Cebuanos’ full support for Arroyo, especially the one stating “Cebuanos Love you, GMA!” Who are they to speak in behalf of all the Cebuanos? The point is, no one can claim that a particular region supports GMA fully, and anything less than this is arrogance, or plain lunacy. If everyone in Cebu continued to maintain loyalty to GMA, then we wouldn’t have anti-Arroyo rallies here.

GMA’s allies have been boasting of the pro-Arroyo rally last Saturday at Manila’s Rizal Park. Apparently, about 120,000 people joined the rally, as opposed to the anti-GMA rally which only brought in around 40,000 people.

Granting that- apart from the “hakot” crowd or paid hacks which graced the pro-GMA rally- a huge number of people genuinely showed their support, Arroyo’s allies have little reason to celebrate.

As they said themselves, Metro Manila is not the Philippines.