Senator Manny Pacquiao, presidential candidate for the 2022 elections, speaks in one of his sorties in Rizal. Contributed photo
MANILA, Philippines — Some internal surveys are indicating that Senator Manny Pacquiao is placing second in the presidential race, his campaign manager said Tuesday.
Pacquiao’s campaign manager Buddy Zamora said that while presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is currently leading in the pre-election surveys, what matters is the “survey on May 9” — the election day itself.
Asked if he believes that Vice President Leni Robredo, who ranked second in the latest Pulse Asia survey, has the “strongest chance” to compete with Marcos, Zamora said: “No, I don’t think so because we have our own surveys.”
“We have surveys that put us at second place… There’s one conducted by a religious group and I believe that we are running second. We have two other internal surveys that say that we are running close to the VP,” Zamora said.
Zamora was then asked if he believes the numbers will be enough to beat Marcos, unless other candidates unite and withdraw.
“I believe we can beat Mr. Marcos come election day. We still have 19 days to go,” Zamora said.
“These survey firms rely on a survey population of 1,200 or 2,400. Our surveys, that we believe more on, reach in to the hundreds of thousands so we rely on them to be more accurate,” he added.
Based on the latest Pulse Asia survey released April 6, Marcos stands at 56 percent while Robredo is second at 24 percent.
Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso is third with eight percent of the votes while Pacquiao is at fourth place with six percent. Senator Panfilo Lacson is at the fifth spot with two percent of the votes.
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