TO HELL WITH POLITICAL SURVEYS!

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago has an axe to grind in vehemently questioning the authenticity and validity of the results of the two successive surveys on the ongoing impeachment case against CJ Renato Corona.  The first survey says 47% of the respondents believes Corona will be convicted.  The second, conducted much later, says 73% believes Corona is guilty and should be convicted.  Methinks both surveys are suspect for  lack of proper timing and objectivity.  Indeed, why should surveys be conducted (unless it's one-sided) at a time when only one side, that of the prosecution, had completely presented their case while the other side, the defense, had barely presented theirs to the impeachment court, and hence, to the public?  Anyway, so be it.  Perhaps -- but just perhaps! -- there are still people in our midst and times who, being born only yesterday, so to speak, tend to swallow everything they hear or read  hook, line and sinker.  Ah, not being one of them, but one who uses his common sense first and foremost, let me present my humble take on these surveys -- of which my objections do not necessarily mirror those of Sen. Miriam. .

First off, it has been in the news that the Pulse Asia survey saying 47% thinks Corona is guilty should be music to the ears of the prosecutors. Excuse me, but whoever thinks so should rehearse his arithmetic and basic logic. Even granting the far-fetched happenstance that the 47% would really reflect in the eventual votes of the senator-judges, that survey result should sound not music, but an alarm bell, for the prosecutors.  That is because to convict Corona, 16 senators, or 67% of 24 is necessary.  Now, between the date those survey results was released and the time the senators had to write their verdict, the relatively more credible thing to happen -- well, if one uses his coconuts -- is for that 47% to go down, instead of to go up? Why? Again for the commonsensical reason that the prosecution may no longer present newer evidence since they had practically rested their case, whereas the defense does have the luxury of time and the fullest opportunity to shoot down the prosecution's evidences one by one, and thus convince some into re-thinking more rightly that Corona need not be impeached. 

Meanwhile, there is reason to believe that whoever had been behind, or conveniently financing, these surveys had realized that the Pulse Asia survey results were not enough, and so, the SWS had to be engaged. The latter now says 73% of respondents believes Corona is guilty and should be convicted.  Indeed, this new number, if an honest reflection of the senators' will, may be far beyond the 67% of the senator votes that are needed to convict Corona. But then, for the survey results to rise from Pulse Asia's 47% to SWS' 73% after the defense had begun presenting their case -- during which, let's take note and get real, the prosecution's evidence had been gradually but steadily disintegrating -- is downright unthinkable from the sheer stand point, again, of plain common sense.   Unfortunately, there are still some amongst us who either doesn't have one, or, if he has, doesn't use it.  Excuse me, I'm not one of them!  

As things are, one Senator has recently opined that the SWS survey results might influence the senators' votes.  Indeed, if the 73% who believes Corona is guilty truly reflects the voice of the people, then senators running for re-election next year may admittedly tend to vote for Corona's conviction, rather than antagonize the electorates and lose in their reelection bid next year.   This is politics at work! But let us please use our coconuts once again!  If ever the senators who fear losing in next year's poll would really throw away their principles and all sense of fairness by voting for Corona's conviction (I refuse to buy that)  how many are we talking about?  Last time I looked, there are only 6, a number that is miles away from the 16 needed to convict the CJ.  At any rate, I may have counted them wrongly, so I ask the readers to take their own inventory in this respect.  That is, of the incumbent senators now in their first term and would try to win their second in 2013.

To sum up, methinks people who are "atat na atat" to see Corona out should better re-invent their strategy.
The thing is, it may already be too late at this point in time, when, let's face it, the case against Corona, has been fast collapsing.    Let us just liken he who thinks otherwise to a poker player who realizes he does not hold the winning hand but must yet at least convince others, if vainly, that he does, and try to amuse himself by replying, "Call!" to the last bet.   Happy Easter to one and all!