Atty. Lorna Kapunan. YUJI GONZALES/INQUIRER.net
ILOILO — Two senatorial bets of Partido Galing at Puso bared on Tuesday getting alleged offers to have their rankings in the surveys improved in exchange for money.
It was lawyer Lorna Kapunan who first disclosed during a press conference here that she received several text messages from a person who she said had allegedly offered her ways to improve her ranking in surveys of two major polling firms —Pulse Asia and the Social Weather Stations (SWS).
“Again survey is a popularity play. One of the things that I’d do is to ban surveys in the next elections because first, it’s mind-conditioning,” Kapunan said.
“As a matter of fact, I’d tell you one story, I hope it’s not true. Somebody texted me, in fact two or three times, I got a text…Attorney, matutulungan kita para ma improve ang survey results mo. Kaya daw nya ang Pulse at tsaka yung SWS (I can help you improve your survey results. The texter said they can deal with Pulse and SWS), and if they are listening now, you better clean up your ranks,” she said.
“Sabi nila in the next two weeks, dito po ang aming survey areas — X,Y,Z. Sasabihin na for an X amount bibigay po namin sa inyo kung saan namin kukunin yung survey sampling namin. Doon po kayo mag-concentrate in the next two or three weeks, tadtarin nyo po ng posters, bayaran nyo yung mga radio dun. Doon po kayo umikot para maganda ng labas nyo survey.”
(They said that in the next two weeks, these are our survey areas – X,Y, Z. It would be said that for an X amount, we will give you the locations where we would get our survey sampling. That’s where you should concentrate your campaign in the next two or three weeks, post lots of posters, pay the radio [broadcasters] there. Make your rounds there so your standings in the survey would be favorable.)
“So I’m saying to myself, g— ba ako (am I stupid)? If that’s the way survey results are done, who are we fooling? You’re not only fooling the public, you’re fooling yourself because it’s not a fair indication of how you’re faring. It just shows that you campaign in the right place and therefore you place high. I’m not saying that those who are placing high are doing that but I’m saying that we must have election laws that can’t be used as a racket,” Kapunan added.
Re-electionist Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who has been consistently topping the senatorial surveys, was among those present in the press conference when Kapunan made the disclosure.
READ: Sotto leads senatorial choices in Pulse survey
Another senatorial bet, Susan “Toots” Ople, who was also at the presscon, also disclosed getting the same text messages.
Kapunan also criticized the expensive advertisements in the media, especially on television, which she described as “not only unconscionable but already immoral.”
“I also challenge the media kayo na nasa (that for you who are in the) major networks, it’s not only unconscionable, it’s already immoral to charge some P1.6 million for a one-minute commercial because you’re limiting your obligation to inform the public by selling airtime, hindi ba (am I right)?”
“Konsenya nila yan at pag magalit na ang network sa akin, magalit na kayo nasaan ang konsensya nyo (That’s their conscience and if the network gets angry with me, then so be it, where is your conscience)? That’s why election law must be fair,” she further said. CDG
READ: ‘Wow,’ de Lima says after ranking 7th in SWS survey