SWS: 2 of 3 Filipinos oppose Cha-cha with term extension

MANILA, Philippines -At least two out of three Filipinos are opposed to Charter change (Cha-cha) if it would allow President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to stay in power after her term ends on June 30, 2010. This was the gist of a survey by pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS) conducted last February, the results of which were made public Tuesday. "The First Quarter 2009 Social Weather Survey, fielded over February 20-23, 2009, found 66% of voting-age Filipinos opposed to amending the Constitution to allow Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to continue as chief official of the Philippines after June 30, 2010," SWS said on its Web site. It said this is more or less unchanged from the SWS survey between September 30 and October last year, where 64 percent of the respondents were opposed to amending the 1987 Constitution with term extension. But while SWS noted somewhat increased opposition in Mindanao and in the Balance of Luzon, there was somewhat decreased opposition in Metro Manila and in the Visayas. SWS said it asked respondents the question, "Kayo po ba ay sang-ayon o hindi sang-ayon sa Charter Change na papayagan si Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo na manatili bilang PINUNONG OPISYAL NG PILIPINAS nang lampas sa Hunyo 30, 2010 [Are you for or against a Charter Change that will allow President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to still be THE CHIEF OFFICIAL OF THE PHILIPPINES after June 30, 2010]?" SWS report says: "66% in Mindanao are opposed (consisting of % strongly disagree and % somewhat disagree), or up by 12 points from 54% in October 2008. Opposition also rose in the Balance of Luzon, from 62% to 66%. However, opposition fell somewhat in Metro Manila, from 78 percent to 72 percent, and in the Visayas, from 70 percent to 62 percent, it added. Still, it said opposition remained high in all classes: It went from 67 percent to 69 percent in class ABC, from 63 percent to 67 percent in class D or the masa; and from 66 percent to 64 percent in class E. The survey used face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages, ±6% for area percentages applied to the survey. - GMANews.TV