Filipinos see the media and civil society organizations (CSOs) as more trustworthy than government institutions in addressing the problem of corruption in flood control projects, a recent Pulse Asia survey showed.
The survey, conducted from Sept. 27 to 30, found that a majority of respondents have much trust in the media and civil society.
Fifty-one percent said they have big trust in the media, while 18 percent said they had small or no trust at all. The remaining 30 percent were undecided.
CSOs obtained a trust rating of 50 percent, with only 11 percent saying they had small or no trust in them. Forty percent cannot say if they have big or small trust in civil society to address corruption in flood projects.
Most respondents are still ambivalent toward the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) created by President Marcos, with 56 percent saying they are not sure if they have big or small trust in it.
Only 23 percent said they had big trust in the ICI, while 17 percent had small or no trust at all.
Some figures do not add up to 100 percent because there were respondents who refused answer or said they don’t know.
Marcos, other gov’t agencies
More respondents have small or no trust in Marcos in addressing the problem of corruption in flood control projects, the survey showed.
Forty-five percent said they had small or no trust in the President, compared to 32 percent who said they had big trust in him. Some 23 percent were undecided.
The ombudsman received slightly higher trust from the public, although these are still lower than those received by the media and CSOs.
Some 39 percent said they had big trust in the ombudsman, while 17 percent had little trust. Forty-three percent were ambivalent.
The survey was conducted prior to the appointment of Jesus Crispin Remulla, former justice secretary, as the next ombudsman.
For the legislature, which is also doing its own investigation, the Senate (37 percent big trust, 27 percent small or no trust) received slightly higher trust ratings than the House of Representatives (25 percent big trust, 36 percent small or no trust).
The Department of Public Works and Highways garnered the lowest trust rating among the entities included in the survey, with only seven percent saying they trust that it would be able to address issues of corruption in flood control projects. Eighty-one percent said they had small or little trust in the agency.