Poe, Roxas elated by SWS survey; VP hits former interior secretary

Binay’s core supporters

Binay said the 35 percent he got in the survey was his core supporters, who included those who voted for him in 2010, his daughter Sen. Nancy Binay in 2013 and those who chose him in previous surveys.

Asked whether he felt hurt that his previous support of 60 percent had gone down, he said sometimes he did but he believed that his numbers could still go up.

“First, the situation is fluid. Secondly, look at your core group there. Because the other candidates, their numbers suddenly surge and then suddenly they also go down,” Binay said.

Asked whom he considered his strongest foe in the presidential race and whether this was Poe, the Vice President said he was a presidential candidate in 2016.

Graft charges taking toll

Senate President Franklin Drilon said the SWS survey showed that the corruption allegations against Binay “have started to take a toll on his candidacy, as shown by the continued decline in his ratings.”

Biny has been accused of amassing ill-gotten wealth when he was mayor of Makati City through allegedly overpriced projects and contracts won by his alleged dummy firms. Binay has denied the allegations.

Drilon said Roxas’ rise was a “strong indication of an upward trend” for the LP standard-bearer.

“The spike in Roxas’ rating shows that President Aquino’s endorsement power remains critical and cannot be ignored. It likewise shows that the public’s appreciation for the administration’s ‘tuwid na daan’ reform policies should not be underestimated,” Drilon said in a statement.

He said the last four SWS surveys showed Roxas’ ratings were gradual but were increasing steadily from 19 percent in November last year to 39 percent in September this year.

More effort needed

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the LP was happy with the jump in Mar Roxas’ standing in the SWS survey.

“Of course, we are happy about it and hopeful his ratings will continue to rise. Of course, this means more effort on his part and that of his supporters,” Belmonte said in a text message.

Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice said he was confident that Roxas would replicate his surge in the SWS survey with the upcoming survey of Pulse Asia in which respondents would be asked to pick just one.

Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. said the endorsement of the President appeared to have consolidated support for Roxas, who had been at the tail end of the surveys in the last 12 months.

Barzaga said that with the lingering questions on the residency and citizenship of the survey leader, Poe, Roxas’ political stock would likely increase as the campaign season begins.

3 names questioned

Senators Francis Escudero and Antonio Trillanes IV questioned the methodology used by SWS in seeking to find out the people’s preference for President by asking their top three choices.

“The fight is one-on-one,” Escudero said in an interview with reporters. But he said at least now the top three choices of people for President were known.

Escudero is seeking the vice presidency as Poe’s running mate.

Second look

He acknowledged that Roxas’ surge in the survey had to do with the President endorsing him.

Trillanes said people gave the former interior secretary “a second look” because of Aquino’s endorsement.

“[Roxas] used to be a popular candidate. In 2010 (when Roxas ran for Vice President and lost), he got 39 percent of voters. That was high … but people had gone cold on him. But because of the endorsement, they gave him a second look,” Trillanes said.

He also questioned the validity of the SWS methodology, saying that this was not valid if it was used as basis for voters’ preference.

He said the survey could be used for “propaganda purposes.”

“You can spin it like Secretary Roxas can make it appear that he has overtaken [Binay]. Vice President Binay can always say he was in the thick of things, that it was just a small difference,” the senator said.

Others

Others named by respondents in the SWS survey were Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte (16 percent), who had made a “categorical” statement that he was not running for President in 2016, Escudero (6 percent), Sen. Bongbong Marcos (5 percent), Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada (3 percent) and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago (2 percent).

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and former Senators Panfilo Lacson and Manny Villar each got 1 percent.—With reports from Marlon Ramos and Inquirer Research

RELATED STORIES

‘Humbled,’ Grace Poe says of topping latest SWS survey

Roxas says his rise in SWS survey proof of public’s trust in ‘Daang Matuwid’