Senator Antonio Trillanes says the SWS survey where Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte outclassed other presidential aspirants was ‘rigged and invalid.’ JULLIANE LOVE DE JESUS / INQUIRER.NET
Vice presidential aspirant Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Monday hit the Social Weather Station (SWS) for releasing a “rigged and invalid” survey as a propaganda favoring the camp of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
Duterte topped the SWS survey commissioned by a Davao-based businessman conducted in the last week of November, or five to six days after the mayor declared his intention to join the presidential race.
BACKSTORY: Duterte tops SWS poll
Thirty eight percent of 1,200 respondents voted for Duterte, overtaking Senator Grace Poe as the poll front-runner. Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay were tied at 21 percent while administration bet Mar Roxas got 15 percent. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago received 4 percent.
“The survey that was released is a propaganda article which was done by the Alan Cayetano-Duterte camp so it naturally favors their candidates,” he said at the Pandesal Forum in Quezon City.
Trillanes, a staunch supporter of presidential aspirant Poe, pointed out that the survey was conducted before the tough-talking mayor spewed out foul words in his interviews, particularly against Pope Francis.
“The survey was conducted before the infamous speeches of Mayor Duterte and I believe that will have an impact,” he said.
Violation
The question in the survey mentioned Duterte’s name, which Trillanes said was a violation in conducting a quantitative research.
The respondents were asked with “With Rodrigo Duterte on this list as a substitute candidate for President, who would you most likely vote for President if the elections were held today?”
“Sinabi nating niluto dahil kung titignan niyo ang tanong, talagang sinubo ang pangalan ni Duterte,” he said.
Notorious
Trillanes said the SWS has been notorious in allowing itself to be used as propaganda instrument by some politicians.
He said this was evident during the 2004 polls when former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sought reelection.
“We have witnessed that during the 2004 presidential elections when they kept on voting GMA as the front runner and ultimately as the winner on the elections,” he said.
Trillanes, with his fellow Magdalo Group members, led two failed coup attempts against Arroyo in 2003 and in 2007.
He said the media should be “more circumspect” in using articles from the SWS and Pulse Asia as these greatly affect voters’ perception of the candidates.