Senator Manny Pacquiao, presidential candidate for the 2022 elections, speaks in one of his sorties in Rizal. Contributed photo
MANILA, Philippines — Presidential candidate Senator Manny Pacquiao on Monday said he does not believe in the results of the latest Pulse Asia survey where he only placed fourth in the preferred presidential bets in 2022, saying that the survey may have only covered rich people.
Pacquiao said he believes he has the support of the poor people, especially those belonging in the D and E classes.
“Baka ‘yung mga mayayaman lang tinanong nila, hindi nila tinanong yung mga mahihirap na tao. Basta kumpiyansa pa rin ako na ang mahihirap na tao ay sama sama ngayon para magakaroon sila ng importansya at umulad ang kanilang pamumuhay,” he said in a press briefing.
(Maybe they only asked the rich. They did not ask the poor people. I am confident that the poor people would unite so that they would have the true change in their lives.)
He said he does not believe in the results of the survey because those are just “mind conditioning” tools and he believes he still has a chance to win the presidency.
“Kahit i-zero pa nila ako sa Luzon, Visayas at Mindanao, hindi pa rin ako matitinag. Mind conditioning ‘yan sa taumbayan pero alam ko ang tao ay kailangan nila ‘yung tunay na pagbabago,” Pacquiao said.
(Even if they give me zero in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, I will not be backing down. It’s only mind conditioning. I know the people need true change.)
He also said that this team has conducted internal surveys, which is very different from those released by survey firms such as Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations.
He is also basing his confidence on the number of supporters he has during campaign rallies.
“Hindi lang ang mga mayayaman ang tatanungin natin. Dapat ‘yung mga mahihirap ang tinatanong, yung D, E class kasi sila ang nangangailangan ng tulong, sila ang naiiwan, at sila ang pinakamarami,” the boxer-turned-politician said.
(We shouldn’t just ask the rich. We should ask the poor, those in the D, E class because they are the ones who need help, they are the ones who are big in number.)
He also pointed out that the results of previous pre-election surveys did not reflect the outcome of the actual elections, reiterating that President Rodrigo Duterte won a landslide election when he only placed third and fourth in the surveys.
Former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the February presidential survey conducted by Pulse Asia with 60% of respondents saying they would vote for him in the upcoming May 9 elections.
He is followed by Vice President Leni Robredo with 15% rating, Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno with 10%, Pacquiao with 8% and Lacson with 2%.