‘Don’t brag, don’t feel sorry’ –- Poe advises candidates on surveys

Presidential aspirant Grace Poe is mob by her supporters as she leaves after the hearing for disqualification case filed against her at the COMELEC en banc in Palacio Del Gobernador, Intramuros, Manila. EDWIN BACASMAS/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

LUCENA CITY – Presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe on Friday declared that she fully trusts the credibility of political surveys even if the one leading the poll is her opponent.

But she has a piece of advice to the survey leader and bottom dweller – don’t brag about it and don’t feel sad over it.

“Minsan ay nasa itaas ka, minsan ay bababa ka ng konti, minsan ay tatatas ka muli. Ang importante ay ‘wag kang magyabang kung ikaw ay mataas at ‘wag kang masyadong malungkot kapag ikaw ay nasa ibaba,” Poe said in response to the latest Pulse Asia survey that showed Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as Metro Manila voters’ top choice for president.

(Sometimes you’re on top, other times you drop down a little and then you go up again. What is important is you do not to brag about it and don’t get too disheartened if you go down the list.)

Poe met journalists in a press conference in a local hotel and restaurant here Friday morning.

She was accompanied by Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga, spokesperson of the Nationalist Peoples Coalition, senatorial candidate Edu Manzano, and Shalani Soledad-Romulo, wife of senatorial aspirant Pasig Rep. Roman Romulo.

The senator, who had been a consistent front-runner in surveys for presidential candidates, maintained that the political survey “is a guide” for all candidates.

“And I treat it with all seriousness. It’s important for us to know our ranking,” Poe said.

She described Pulse Asia, a major pollster in the country, as “credible.”

READ: Poe camp calls poll topped by Duterte ‘inconclusive’

However, she questioned the “high margin of error” in its latest survey, which, she said, had resulted to the close ranking of the presidential candidates.

The survey which was conducted from November 11 to 12 among 300 respondents in Metro Manila showed Duterte as the leader with 34 percent, followed by Poe with 26; Vice President Jejomar Binay, 22 percent; former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, 11 percent; and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, 7 percent.

The Pulse Asia conducted the survey less than two weeks before Duterte declared that he would seek the presidency in May next year.

Poe echoed the statement of her spokesman Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian that the survey result was “inconclusive” and “not reflective” of the sentiments of the country.

“It was not conclusive on a national level,” Poe said and added that voters from different parts of the country and not only from Metro Manila will also vote in the election. CDG