AFP not bothered by survey-based public distrust on Esperon

By Ronron
April 12, 2007

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is not bothered by the low trust rating that its chief of staff, Gen. Hermogenes Epseron, Jr., got from the public that were surveyed by Pulse Asia recently.

“We are not affected by this survey… Despite the survey, the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is not in any way affected by this survey because these are just surveys,” AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said Thursday.

In a survey conducted by Pulse Asia among 1,800 respondents last April 3 to 5, Esperon got a distrust rating of 41 percent. He also got the same rating for those who cannot say whether or not they trust him.

The survey said not more than two out of ten surveyed only trust Esperon.

Bacarro said it was the first time that Esperon became a subject of a trust survey among the public.

Calling the survey result as just “perception,” Bacarro said the readers of the survey should consider who commissioned it, what is its objective, and who were those interviewed.

“All of these would lead to what is really the intent (of the survey),” Bacarro said, as he questioned the inclusion of Esperon in the survey that had political figures mostly as its subject.

Bacarro said what is important is that Esperon enjoys the “trust and confidence of the soldiers.”

“Never has the Armed Forces of the Philippines this strong. We are all aware of the number of efforts to destroy the image of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the number of disinformation efforts with the intent of causing divisiveness within the Armed Forces of the Philippines. And they have continued to fail because of the fact that the soldiers and officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines strongly trust our Chief of Staff,” Bacarro said.

He said hopefully, the efforts and accomplishment of the AFP under the leadership of Esperon will correct the “public perception” on him.

“He remains to be focused on performing his task, which is to lead the Armed Forces of the Philippines in accomplishing our mandate,” Bacarro said of Esperon.

Esperon figured in the “Hello Garci” scandal over a year ago after his name was mentioned in the taped conversation that allegedly planned to rig the results of the 2004 elections in favor of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Esperon was once a chief of Arroyo’s Presidential Security Group in 2001./DMS