Binay says latest SWS pre-elections survey a ‘wake-up call’

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, La Union—Vice President Jejomar Binay on Monday said the pre-election surveys serve as a “wake-up call” for him to do better in his campaign on the run-up to the presidential polls in May.

Binay took his campaign to this city and headed to CSI mall where he had lunch in Goldilocks Bakeshop and had pictures with mall goers.

Asked whether or not he believed in surveys, Binay said he considered pre-election polls as a wake-up call for him to do better.

“For whatever it may be for, yung survey parang wake up call sa akin (The suvey is like a “wake-up call” for me),” Binay said in his press conference after having lunch in Goldilocks.

Binay said he is not bothered by his drop because the warm reception of people during his campaign sorties shows otherwise.

“Ako ay natutuwa sa reality kasi kasama ko kayo, yung nakikita ko e yun ang reality,” Binay said.

(I am delighted at reality because I am with you, what I seee is the reality.)

He also said he’s not bothered he might not win in the elections because in 2010, his survey ratings meant nothing in the election results where he came out as a surprise winner in the vice presidential race.

READ: ‘History repeats itself’: Confident Binay sees victory in presidential polls

“Baka nanunumbalik ang 2010 na kampanya. E ang layo ng diperensya ng sinusurvey dun sa reality,” Binay said.

(The campaign in 2010 might return. The gap between the survey respondents and the reality is very wide.)

He made the statement after he shed five percentage points in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey, surpassed even by independent presidential bet Sen. Grace Poe.

READ: Poe grabs top spot in latest SWS poll; Binay loses big

According to the survey conducted from March 4 to 7 first published in BusinessWorld, Binay got in in second place while his political nemesis Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas landed in third.

Binay shed five percentage points to get 24 percent, while Roxas got the biggest gain of four percentage points rising to 22 percent from the previous survey conducted from Feb. 5 to 7.

Poe led the survey, getting 27 percent of respondents gaining three percentage points.

The survey was conducted ahead of the Supreme Court majority decision released March 8 ruling that Poe is a natural-born citizen and has complied with the 10-year residency requirement, clearing her way to run in the presidential race.

Meanwhile, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte slumped three points to 21 percent, while Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago got four percent.

The SWS pre-election survey was done after the first presidential debate in Cagayan de Oro City last Feb. 21. The poll was done using face-to-face interviews with 1,800 validated voters. It had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2 percentage points.

With a margin of error of plus minus two, Poe and Binay are technically in a statistical tie for the lead, while survey ratings of Binay, Roxas and Duterte overlap.

In a statement, Binay’s spokesperson Atty. Rico Quicho said the vice president vowed to double the efforts in campaigning following his five-percentage points drop.

READ: Binay vows to work harder after five-point drop in SWS survey

“The results of the survey go up and down but the vice president will double his efforts to cover as many areas and talk to as many people as possible,” Quicho said.

“We wish that hopefully the results of the survey would truly reflect what is happening on the ground and what can be seen in the media coverage of our sorties and rallies,” he added. RAM

Vice President Jejomar Binay passes by CSI mall in the City of San Fernando, La Union on Monday and had pictures with mall goers. PHOTO FROM MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB/INQUIRER.NET