THE UniTeam of presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and vice-presidential bet Sara Duterte-Carpio maintained their lead in the February 18 to 23 electoral survey of Pulse Asia, hardly changing from the polling results in January.
Marcos remained as the top choice of voters if the elections were held today with 60 percent (unchanged from January), followed by Vice President Leni Robredo with 15 percent (from 16 percent), Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso with 10 percent (from 8 percent), Sen. Manny Pacquiao with 8 percent (unchanged) and Sen. Panfillo Lacson with 2 percent (from 4 percent).
But Robredo’s spokesman, Ibarra Gutierrez, said the latest Pulse Asia survey “was done prior to these game changing developments and does not yet capture the more recent surge in VP Leni’s support.
“Recent weeks have seen a snowballing in support for VP Leni, with massive, record-breaking rallies from Butuan to Bacolod, Cavite to Isabela, Sampaloc to Malolos,” he said.
“With this clear momentum from the people’s campaign — reflected both in the massive rallies as well as in online metrics — we are confident that the next 56 days will culminate in an election day victory for Leni Robredo.”
Lawyer Vic Rodriguez, spokesman of Marcos, said the latest Pulse Asia survey results debunk the “fake narrative” of other candidates that they are the people’s preferred choice as the next president of the country.
Rodriguez, in a statement, said the Marcos camp thanks the Filipino people for their unwavering trust in the leadership capabilities and competence of the former senator.
“The result of the Pulse Asia survey has again debunked the fake narrative being forced by some small segment of our society on the current sentiments and vote preference of us, Filipinos. While some of them may claim that they are winning in ‘Twitter’ and ‘Google’ searches, frontrunner Bongbong Marcos is winning the battle with the Filipino people,” he said.
Pacquiao laughed off the survey, saying: “Who would belief that? Perhaps they should stop asking only the wealthy people and start getting the opinion of our poor countrymen.
“I have an unshaken faith that the Filipino poor are ready to make themselves heard, to have their chance at better lives,” he added.
Lacson also dismissed the survey, saying: “Surveys are not elections, Last time I heard, (the) election is on May 9. I’m not bothered at all simply because the numbers I feel on the ground are different from what the surveys indicate.”
Lacson said he is confident that his ranking will go up once the presidential debates have been conducted as this will be his way of letting the people know more about his platform of government.
“Having said all that, I will continue this fight all the way to election day,” he said.
Others in the presidential list were Faisal Mangondato with 0.4 percent, Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) chair Leodegario de Guzman (and Dr. Jose Montemayor Jr. with 0.1 percent each, and former presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella and former Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales who both had zero percent each.
Marcos enjoyed majority support across all geographic areas (53 percent to 68 percent) and socio-economic groupings (58 percent to 61 percent).
Should their original choice for president decide not to proceed with their candidacy, voters said they will vote for Domagoso (26 percent) instead, followed by Pacquiao (13 percent), Robredo (12 percent), Lacson (11 percent), Marcos (9 percent), and De Guzman and Mangondato (1 percent each).
Other presidentiables candidates who received less than one percent were Abella (0.4 percent), Montemayor and Gonzales (0.2 percent each).
A statement from the Marcos camp said that with less than two months before the 2022 national elections, “most of Marcos’ opponents were still having a hard time sending their message that would resonate with Filipinos, which would explain why they could not seem to connect with them.
“Marcos, on the other hand, despite all the vitriol and disparaging remarks thrown against him have refused to engage in gutter politics and opted to stick with his message of healing and unifying leadership. Political pundits say that the negative campaigning was unable to erode the trust and confidence of the Filipino people in him,” it added.
SARA LEADS VP RACE
In the vice-presidential race, Duterte-Carpio maintained her 53 percent from January, followed by Senate President Vicente Sotto with 24 percent (from 29 percent), Sen. Francis Pangilinan with 11 percent (unchanged), Dr. Willie Ong with 6 percent (from 5 percent), Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza with 1 percent (unchanged).
Those who received less than 1 percent include Manny Lopez, Walden Bello, Serapio Carlos with 09.1 percent each while Rizalito David received zero percent.
Duterte-Carpio enjoyed majority support across socio-economic groupings (58 percent to 61 percent) and was the top choice for vice president across all geographic areas (41 percent to 82 percent).
Should their original choice for Vice president decide not to proceed with their candidacy, voters said they will vote for Sotto (31 percent) instead, followed by Pangilinan (15 percent), Ong and Duterte-Carpio (11 percent each), Atienza (5 percent), and Lopez (1 percent each).
Other vice presidentiables candidates who received less than one percent were Bello and Serapio Abella (0.1 percent each) and Rizalito (0.05 percent each).
Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD) President Martin Romualdez said the latest Pulse Asia results validates the wide support for both Marcos and Duterte-Carpio who “enjoy and the warm and vigorous welcome and reception they have been receiving throughout the country.
“Our candidates have maintained their high marks, less than two months before the May elections. Despite such surveys showing, they will keep on campaigning and spreading their message of hope, patriotism and unity,” Romualdez said.
14 LEAD SENATORIAL RACE
The Pulse survey, which involved 2,400 adult respondents nationwide with a ± 2 percent error margin, also found that 51 percent of Filipinos would vote for a complete 12 senatorial lineup.
Pulse said that of the 64 individuals seeking a senatorial seat, 14 have statistical chances of winning.
Broadcaster Raffy Tulfo ranked first among the senatorial bets having received the most support (66.9 percent), followed by Antique Rep. Loren Legarda (58.9 percent), and former Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar (56.2 percent).
Trailing them were Taguig City-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano (55 percent), re-electionist Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri (50.5 percent) and Sorsogon Gov. Francis Escudero (49.8 percent).
Following behind were actor Robin Padilla (47.3 percent), former Vice-President Jejomar Binay (45.6 percent), re-electionist Senators Sherwin Gatchalian (44.6 percent) and Joel Villanueva (42 percent), and former senator Jinggoy Estrada (38.6 percent).
Re-electionist Sen. Risa Hontiveros and former Quezon City mayor Herbert Bautista were tied for 12th place with 32.8 percent each, followed by former senator JV Estrada Ejercito with 31.6 percent.
Bautista, in a statement, welcomed and thanked the public for the latest Pulse Asia survey results, even as he asked his supporters to sustain efforts to keep him in the top 12.
“The trust you gave me is priceless. You can be sure that not only will I return the favor but exceed expectations as a senator,” said Bautista, who is running on a platform of internet reforms, livelihood for all, youth development, and pagkain para sa pamilyang Pilipino.
“To everyone who believes in me, I express thanks from the bottom of my heart. But the journey is just beginning. I appeal for your continued support until Election Day and beyond,” he added. — With Wendell Vigilia, Peter Tabingo, and Raymond Africa
