‘There’s no one like Jose Rizal’

For about half of all adult Filipinos, no one comes close to national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, according to a survey released Friday by Pulse Asia Inc.

Pulse Asia’s Ulat ng Bayan survey, conducted from May 21 to June 4, found that one in every two respondents (51.1 percent) believed Rizal, who marked his 150th birth anniversary last Sunday, was incomparable.

Pressed to name anyone who could come close to Rizal, 10.8 percent mentioned  President Aquino’s father, former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., as comparable to Rizal.

A far second and third were former president Ferdinand Marcos (5.4 percent) and boxing champ and Sarangani Representative Manny Pacquiao (4.8 percent).

Four percent named the President’s mother, former president Corazon Aquino, while 3 percent also named President Aquino himself, after Andres Bonifacio (3.1 percent).

Mentioned but garnering less than one percent of the responses were: former presidents Joseph Estrada and Ramon Magsaysay, Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Francis Escudero and Apolinario Mabini.

“The view that Dr. Jose Rizal is incomparable is shared by near to small majorities across geographic areas (45.3 percent in the Visayas to 62.7 in Metro Manila) and socioeconomic classes (48.1 percent in Class D to 59.5 percent in Class ABC),” Pulse Asia noted in a press release.

To the question, “To your knowledge, who is the national hero of the Philippines?” 81.9 percent answered Rizal, while 2.8 percent answered Pacquiao. Others mentioned were Bonifacio (1.9 percent), Ninoy Aquino Jr. (1.7 percent), President Aquino (1.7 percent), Cory Aquino (1 percent) and Emilio Aguinaldo (1 percent).

The survey covered 1,200 adults aged 18 and above. It had an error margin of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points. Inquirer Research