‘Take poll surveys with grain of salt’

POLL watchdog groups on Monday warned voters to take election surveys with a grain of salt, saying they were a multimillion-peso business that allowed “clients” to have some influence on how the questions were framed.

In a weekly forum, the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente), the National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) also said the results of these polls should not be the voters’ basis when they vote on May 9.

“While poll surveys are covered by the Fair Election Act, voters must always remember that these are paid and [they cost] millions of pesos,” Lente acting executive director Ann Caritos said at the Tapatan sa Aristocrat forum.

“No matter how these poll firms insist that they are independent, when you have a client that pays millions of pesos for their services, of course that client has influence on the questions … Not all surveys are 100 percent honest,” Caritos added.

Namfrel secretary general Eric Alvia said results of election surveys were mere “snapshots” of the preferences of a group of people at a given time and did not necessarily reflect the overall decision of the electorate.

He said if a survey was conducted properly with the correct methodologies, it could give an accurate indicator of the people’s sentiments but would not automatically translate into voting behavior come Election Day.

“Poll surveys are not an accurate gauge of the voters’ intent and behavior,” Alvia said, noting there were indicators that made survey results not reflective of the current sentiments of the respondents.

He said certain political events could sway people into changing their opinions but only after a particular survey had shown a specific trend or pattern.

“Many [have jumped] into the bandwagon of using social media but look at the demographics. Class D and E are not connected so some of the influences reach them slowly. There’s a lag,” Alvia said.

The PPCRV also expressed the need for transparency among survey companies and for more substance in the way people selected their candidates.

“Surveys are self-propelled so we have to be wary about where the questions are coming from,” PPCRV representative Tony Villasor said.

He said it would be superficial if people voted on the basis of survey results.

“Let’s get to the substance of the matter. We have to educate voters on the good character of candidates and not form their choices solely on propaganda,” Villasor said.

The election watchdog groups said voters must be warned about the danger of solely relying on the results of surveys since they have the habit of only going for someone faring well in the results.

“So we have to relay this message to the people, that we take [these surveys with] a grain of salt. Surveys are business and cost millions of pesos,” Caritos said.