The Philippine Online Chronicles

Filipinos are looking forward to a better future, economy and government according to the results of the exit poll conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and TV-5 last May 10 and released Wednesday, May 19.

Economy, government

According to the poll more than half (57.8 percent) of those who voted said they expect the quality of governance to improve within the next 12 months under the next administration.

Meanwhile nearly half (49.7 percent) or three out of five Filipinos who voted in the recent polls expect their quality of life to improve within the next year. The rest of those polled expect their lives to remain the same (23 percent) or get worse (1.8 percent).

Optimism is up from June of 2009 when only 29 percent of adults polled believed their quality of life will improve in the next twelve months.

On economy, half of those polled (52.5 percent) believe that the economy will improve within the next year while a minority expect it to remain the same (19 percent) or worsen (2.5).

One in four of voters out of 52,573 respondents polled in 803 voting centers nationwide could not or refused to answer the exit poll queries on their expectations on government, economy and quality of life.

Public expectations up from last year

The upswing of voter attitude contrasts with the dissatisfaction of voters about the incumbent administration. President Arroyo will step down on June 30 and turn over government to her successor.

Towards the end of her term the Arroyo government garnered low satisfaction ratings in previous SWS surveys. More than half of those surveyed said they were dissatisfied with President Arroyo’s performance in June and in December.

When her administration was similarly rated, nearly half were dissatisfied with the national government in June and exactly half dissatisfied with government in September.

The late President Corazon Aquino’s only son Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is the current frontrunner in the presidential race. Aquino is ahead by a wide margin over former President Joseph Estrada, according to the latest results of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and the exit poll.

The SWS noted that there was negligable difference between the PPCRV results and their own poll. Sen. Aquino still garnered majority of votes with Estrada placing second and Sen. Manuel Villar placing third.

On par with expectations, says Arroyo admin

Improved public expectations for their quality of life jibed with their initial feedback from the field, said a Malacañang official.

“So far sa aming initial reaction feedback sa aming kababayan, medyo maganda ang takbo ng buhay sa Hulyo sa taong ito ... Sa aming palagay medyo maganda ang takbo ng pamumuhay sa Hulyo, Agosto at Setyembre (So far the initial feedback we got was that people expect their lives to improve starting July. We expect this to go on until at least September)," said Domingo Panganiban, National Anti-Poverty Commission Chairman to dwIZ radio.

Panganiban also said it is important for the next administration to sustain the current poverty alleviation projects of the incumbent government.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said the smooth results of the recent polls and how the new administration will address the country’s fiscal sustainability would increase the country's chances of getting a credit rating upgrade.