Foes shrug off Duterte survey lead
Public opinion polls, like the latest Pulse Asia survey of presidential candidate preferences among Metro Manila voters, “serve to heighten people’s interest in the electoral process,” according to Malacañang.
The Palace, however, did not comment on the results of the poll which showed Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on top, followed by Sen. Grace Poe, Vice President Jejomar Binay, administration standard-bearer Mar Roxas and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said such surveys “encourage our people to broaden their participation by learning more about the platforms of candidates and assessing their records in public service.”
‘Programs, not personalities’
Earlier, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, when asked if the administration considered Duterte a threat to Roxas’ candidacy, said voters should pay more attention to the candidates’ programs of government instead of focusing on “personalities” and their “personal narratives.”
“The thing with people running is that we’re so focused on the personalities involved… but at the end of the day, I think you should recognize and people should be more discerning in what each candidate presents to the public. What really is the offer?” Lacierda said.
Duterte last weekend suddenly announced he was joining the 2016 presidential race after insisting for months that he would not run.
The Pulse Asia survey was carried out two weeks before Duterte announced his decision and was reportedly commissioned by a supporter.
Sen. Koko Pimentel, the president of PDP-Laban, Duterte’s party, denied that the party had commissioned the survey, saying that it had no money for that.
READ: Pimentel: PDP-Laban did not commission survey
But he was pleased with its results, pointing out that the Davao City mayor was not even a declared presidential candidate yet.
Speaking to reporters, Pimentel acknowledged that if one were to read the survey results “liberally,” they actually showed Duterte and Poe were “statistically tied,” considering the margin of error of plus or minus five percent which represents a difference of “less than 10 percent.”
‘Inconclusive’
“But it’s still good enough for a person who has not even declared his candidacy (yet),” he said of Duterte, who has yet to file his candicacy certificate, and is planning to substitute for party mate Martin Diño, who has withdrawn from the presidential race.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Poe said the results of survey showing Duterte as the top choice of Metro Manila voters were “inconclusive and not reflective of the sentiments of the country” as it only covered the National Capital Region.
“There is more to the Philippines than Metro Manila,” Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian said in a statement.
“Surveys give us a snapshot of people’s sentiments at a given point in time. Sentiments change regularly depending on what message people hear,” he said.
Gatchalian said the survey results would not affect Poe’s “resolve” to seek the presidency.
The Pulse Asia survey interviewed 300 respondents from Nov. 11 to 12, or less than two weeks before Duterte declared that he would seek the presidency in May.
READ: Duterte leads in Metro poll
A spokesperson for Binay said any survey results should be considered as a “guide to planning.”
Margin of error
“We take note of the results, and the statement of Anna Tabunda (of Pulse Asia) that the survey has a margin of error of 13 percent owing to the small sampling size,” Binay spokesperson Joey Salgado said.
He said Binay will also continue to talk to the people about his “programs to address poverty, hunger and employment.”
Coloma had earlier asked Binay to check out the latest public opinion polls which, he said, indicated that “public satisfaction with the Aquino administration is higher than any administration since 1986.”
Binay had claimed the administration would be known as a period of “missed opportunities and unfulfilled promises.”
“Despite criticism from detractors, the President’s performance in the past five years has been deemed satisfactory by a majority of our bosses, the Filipino people,” he said in a text message. With Marlon Ramos
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