Hope.

(From Philippine Daily Inquirer)

THE LATEST Social Weather Stations survey bears glad tidings-if we look hard enough. At first glance, the main storyline would seem to be essentially negative: The number of Filipinos optimistic about the new year has dropped dramatically in the last two years. From 95 percent in 2002 and 90 percent in 2003, the index of optimism has fallen to 81 percent.

The nationwide survey was conducted between Nov. 23 and Dec. 2, at the very time the country was struggling with the mudslide tragedies in Aurora, Quezon, Nueva Ecija and Oriental Mindoro. If the poll had been taken two weeks later, it would not have been surprising to see the number pulled down even lower by popular sentiment over the sudden death of Filipino icon Fernando Poe Jr.

The latest finding also compares unfavorably with the results of a similar survey conducted at the end of 2000. At that time, the country was reeling from "juetenggate" (Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson's spectacular charges of corruption against President Joseph Estrada) and the maneuverings behind the first impeachment trial in our history. In the midst of great political uncertainty, the SWS found that 87 percent of adult Filipinos were hopeful about the coming new year.

The SWS noted that public opinion about hopefulness over the New Year is determined in part by public opinion about happiness at Christmastime. The same survey found that the number of Filipinos who expected a happy Christmas fell from 82 percent in 2002 and 77 percent in 2003 to 64 percent in 2004.

Of this new, diminished majority, around eight out of 10 saw hopeful prospects in 2005.

The downtrend in both the happiness-in-Christmas and hopefulness-in-the-New Year numbers is worrying. Apparently, the political poison in the air, which has persisted since Estrada's ouster and reached a new level of toxicity during the election season, has taken its toll on a race once topping international surveys as the happiest people on earth.