Sen. Grace Poe, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS
Senator Grace Poe further improved her lead as the preferred presidential aspirant while Manuel “Mar” Roxas II leaped to second place in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll.
According to the survey, first published in BusinessWorld on Sunday night, Poe now has a preference rate of 47 percent, which is five percentage points higher than in June.
READ: Grace Poe: I’m your next President
Roxas succeeded in snatching the second spot from former frontrunner Vice President Jejomar Binay.
Roxas has resigned as secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The survey, conducted last September 2 to 5 or less than a week after Roxas was endorsed by President Benigno Aquino III, showed that preference for Roxas jumped to 39 percecnt, from only 21 percent in June.
READ: Aquino officially endorses Mar Roxas as LP standard-bearer
At the time, Binay was enjoying a 34 percent preference rate, coming in at second to Poe. While more than a third of the 1,200 respondents still backed Binay, the increase was minuscule. With only 35 percent in September saying they believe Binay is one of the best leaders to succeed Aquino, Binay slipped to third place.
On the other hand, the increased support for Roxas and Poe may have eaten into Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s preference rate. From 20 percent in June, preference for Duterte fell to 16 percent in September.
The poll was administered before Poe formally declared her candidacy for President and Duterte officially dropped out of the presidential race.
READ: Duterte drops out of presidential race
Instead of asking for only one name, the survey asked respondents, “According to the Constitution, the term of President Noynoy Aquino is up to 2016 only, and there will be an election for a new President in May 2016. Who do you think are the good leaders who should succeed Pres. Aquino as President? You may give up to three names.”
Coming in at fifth place was Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero with six percent (from four percent in June), followed by Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (five percent), former president and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada (three percent), Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago (two percent).
At the tail end of the survey with a preference rating of one percent each are former senator Panfilo Lacson, former senator and losing presidential candidate Manuel “Manny” Villar and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.
The non-commissioned survey has sampling error margins of three percent for national percentages, and six percent each for Metro Manila, Balance of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.